Ingredients
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8 ounces Ground Pork
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8 ounces Ground Beef
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1/2 cup Rice
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1 cup Water
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4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
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1 big white Onionfinely chopped
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2 Eggs
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1 bunch Cilantro - Freshchopped
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1/4 cup fresh Mintchopped
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1 tablespoon dried Oregano
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1 teaspoon Cuminchopped
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1 teaspoon Salt
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1/2 teaspoon Pepper
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2 Celery Stalkchopped
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2 small Carrotspeeled and diced
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1 clove of Garlicminced
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12–ounce can crushed or chopped Tomatoesand their juice
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6 cups Chicken Broth
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1 medium Zucchinidiced
Steps for Albondigas Soup with Beef & Pork
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1
Done
20 Minutes
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Prepare the rice and vegetablesIn a medium bowl, combine the rice and the boiling water. Let it soak for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the onion, cilantro, mint, cumin, and celery stalk. Peel the carrots, then dice them along with zucchini. Mince the garlic. |
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2
Done
4 Minutes
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Sauté half of the onionPut 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a small frying pan and sauté half of the onion until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool. |
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3
Done
10 Minutes
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Mix the pork, beef and other ingredientsIn a large bowl combine the sautéed onion, pork, and beef. Add the soaked rice, eggs, half the cilantro, half the mint, the oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix to blend well. Moisten your hands with water and shape the mixture into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. |
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4
Done
1 Hour 20 Minutes
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Prepare the soupIn a large pan over medium-high heat, heat the remaining oil and brown the meatballs lightly, about 15 minutes, or bake them at 350ºF on an oiled baking sheet for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add the remaining onions, celery, carrot, and garlic to the pan. Simmer until the celery is soft, about 2 to 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes and the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, then add the meatballs and the remaining mint. Simmer until the meatballs are firm (but not so long that they fall apart), about 1 hour. Enjoy! |
Additional Info for Albondigas Soup with Beef & Pork
Albondigas Soup is the classic version of the popular Mexican soup. I like to use pork and beef to have both flavors in it, and the result for my version of Albondigas Soup will be greater than you can imagine. That is part of the wonder of a recipe like this- you can tweak things and really make it your own!
Content on this page…
About Mexican Albondigas Soup Recipe
Albondigas soup is a traditional Mexican recipe loaded with vegetables and full of flavor. Any housewife knows how to follow my recipe’s steps and bring to the table the Hispanic version of the meatballs. The meatballs provide protein, while rice adds whole grains to this healthful dish and, if desired, you can use only beef instead of half beef and half pork. If you want to change the cuisine for the entire lunch or dinner, this soup can be your entree, along with Beef Tenderloin with Cocoa Glaze & Pineapple Salsa as the main course. Anyway, this soup is great and has it all… just try it out, and you’ll thank yourself for choosing it.
Albondigas are thought to have Arabic origins
The main advantage of Mexican Albondigas soup is that it can be made very easily by anyone, has ingredients that can be found anywhere in the world and throughout the year, and it is a good thing because you can prepare a healthy dish using fresh ingredients.
As per Wikipedia, the Albondigas are thought to have Arabic origins. Early recipes included in some of the earliest known Arabic cookbooks generally feature seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. This method was taken to the West and is referred to as gilding. Many regional variations exist, notable among them the unusually large kufteh Tabrizi, having an average diameter of 20 centimetres (7.9 in).
Why Albondigas Soup is healthy?
Albondigas soup can be considered a healthy recipe thanks to the contribution of vitamins from fresh vegetables that are in it. It also provides the protein from both beef and pork meat which makes it not only healthy but also full of vitamins, minerals, and proteins. For me, if I eat Albondigas Soup, I’ll skip the main course for sure.
Albondigas Soup can help with weight-loss?
I said that you could skip the main course if you eat Albondigas Soup, and that’s true. Unfortunately, this version of the Mexican Albondigas soup, cannot help with weight loss. Nevertheless, you can make a lighter Albondigas soup by removing the pork meat leaving only the ground beef. Maybe you need to skip the oil too. That’s how you can adapt this recipe for a weight-loss diet.
Why Beef and Pork meat and not one of them?
As I said above, you will have two types of proteins if you’ll use both types of meat for making the meatballs. Another reason is that beef is a dry type of meat, and by adding pork, the grease from it will make the albondigas become more tender.
Why do my albondigas fall apart?
Usually, when meatballs fall apart, the problem is the binder. Most meatball recipes call for using bread crumbs and eggs in balanced quantities. Nevertheless, if you are egg intolerant, you can replace eggs with parmesan, a combination of breadcrumbs and milk or chia seeds. And as a reminder, it is mandatory that the soup boils when you drop the albondigas in. Another reason for falling apart is the quality of meats, therefore, if the meatballs are falling apart, add a teaspoon of flour to the meat composition, this will help you get firm albondigas.
Notes and Tips
- Saute the meat to avoid having to much grease, A part of the pork grease will melt, and you can remove it from the pan with a spoon.
- For better quality meat, you can buy and ground it yourself. This way, you will have the perfect combination and will not be mandatory to saute the meat as I wrote in NOTE 1.
- The zucchini must be added with 3-5 minutes before the end of the cooking process. Otherwise, it will soften too much and will melt in the pot.
- If you need a substitute for bread crumbs in albondigas, you may use crushed crackers or all-purpose flour. For a substitute for bread crumbs in meatloaf, I also recommend using finely diced veggies (like cauliflower) or even uncooked rice.
