Sopa De Albondigas (mexican Meatball Soup)

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 -5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1 1/2-2 cups low sodium vegetable broth or 1 1/2-2 cups broth (i use homemade)
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can peeled diced tomatoes, undrained
• 5 -7 tomatillos, papery skins removed,washed and diced (depending on size)
• 3 -4 cups water (depending on how much stock you used and how thin you like your soup)
• 1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped
• 1/3 cup rice or 1/3 cup brown rice
• 2 -4 carrots, peeled and sliced (depending on size)
• salt
• pepper
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs or 1/3 cup italian seasoned breadcrumbs (i use progresso)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 egg

Recipe

• 1 in a dutch oven or other soup pot with tight-fitting lid, saute onion, garlic, celery (optional), and cumin seed in hot oil until onions begin to look clear.
• 2 add broth, tomatoes (with juice), water, tomatillos, and cilantro.
• 3 add salt and pepper to taste.
• 4 bring to a boil.
• 5 reduce to a simmer and add carrots and rice.
• 6 make meatballs: begin by mixing breadcrumbs, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder.
• 7 knead in ground beef until thoroughly mixed.
• 8 add egg and knead in.
• 9 (if needed, add additional breadcrumbs; texture at this point should be slightly firmer than ground beef with nothing added.) form into small (about 1/2-inch) meatballs.
• 10 bring broth back to a boil.
• 11 add meatballs to hot broth.
• 12 reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.