Caldo de albóndigas

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La cancion “El Taxista” by Los Dinnos Aurios is playing as my mom is making dinner, when there was music on we knew that the meal was going to be great. Back in the days, el internet no existia and many of the meals that my mom would make was by memory. So when I asked how to make sopa de albóndigas, I would get a list of ingredients followed by the phrase “le tanteas a tu gusto”. I later realized that the older generation taught how to cook differently. As soon as I was old enough, my mom would start me with washing dishes. I later graduated to chopping whatever my mother needed to finally have the lofty privilege to menear la comida y calentar tortillas. The whole time, this woman was pulling a Mr. Miyagi on me!

This comforting soup was like a warm hug, filled with tender meatballs and fresh vegetables simmered to perfection. I’d watch my mom shape each albóndiga with care, mixing ground beef with rice, spices, and a touch of love in every bite. Because she never measured, I would observe as she relied on her senses to know when the mixture was just right. It was in these little moments that I learned cooking wasn’t just about ingredients, it was about intuition. As I got comfortable with my new role as áma de casa, I leaned how invaluable it was for me to have learned to cook this way. Understanding how to cook with basic ingredients and intuition can result in not just flavorful meals but memories to build on. Con “Pideme la Luna” by Leo Dan me despido.

Can I use other vegetables?

Absolutely! Traditionally it has potatoes, carrots, and zucchini. But as you will see, in this recipe I add more vegetables. It’s one of my ways to add more vegetables to my kids diet, the more the merrier. For my toddlers I chop everything up for them so it’s easier for them to eat, including the meatball. But sometimes some things are more accessible than other times, so I use what I have available to me. One thing to keep in mind however is that some vegetables are more sturdier than others and might require more time cooking (i.e. carrots, potatoes), in comparison to others (i.e. zucchini). It will require you to time when you put in certain vegetables or cut up the vegetables a bit bigger so you don’t end up with soggy veggies.

How can I keep my albóndigas from falling apart?

When mixing the ingredients for the albondigas, the right ratio of eggs and bread crumbs will greatly help to keep everything together. We want to compress the meatballs as tightly as we would a raw egg but careful not to break it. When you put them in the broth to cook, you have to make sure that the broth is at a rolling boil. Doing so will help prevent the meatball to disintegrate.

How do I make caldo de albóndigas spicy?

Typically a chile toreado is eaten along with the caldo. I’ve often seen my elders smash their chile toreado into the caldo to make it burst it’s flavor in the caldo. But some chiles can be deceptively not spicy at all. You can add 1-2 chipotle en adobo when you are making the sauce for the broth, adjust to your spicy comfort level. The Xnipec Salsa is another perfect alternative, you can add as little or much to adjust the spice level while at the same time adding more flavor to the caldo.

How to make Caldo de Albóndigas

Ingredients:

Meatballs

• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin

Broth and vegetables

• 2.5 cups of fresh tomatoes
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tbs Knorr chicken bouillon
• 1 tbs oil
• 2 cups carrots peeled and cut into rectangles
• 3 zucchini cut into large rectangles
• 2 large chayote peeled, cored, and chopped into large pieces
• 3 large potatoes peeled and cut into medium rectangles
• 8 oz green beans with ends cut off and cut into pieces of about 2 inches long
• 16 cups of water
• half a ramo de cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add tomatoes, onion, garlic, and Knorr to a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Heat a large pot then add oil. Pour the contents of the blender into the pot to fry for about 3 minutes. Then add water and bring to a boil.
3. In the meantime, in a medium sized bowl add all of the ingredients for the meatballs and mix well until everything is well incorporated. Form golf balls size meatballs, make sure not to compress the meatballs too much.
4. Add the meatballs to the broth followed by the cut up vegetables and half a ramo de cilantro. Bring to a boil then simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Tips and Good to know:

• Don’t over mix the meatballs, they can have a tougher finish.
• Keeping the vegetables larger help with them not falling apart if you need to cook the soup longer or el recalentado.
• Traditionally it’s served with warm tortillas, avocado, chiles toreados, and arroz rojo.

I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe like we did. It’s sure to keep you warm during the cold months ahead. Buen provecho!