Gringo Sopa de Albondigas ala Maven
Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 19:38 I just had a yen for meatballs in soup today. And, I wanted to use up a few small packets of frozen ground chicken thigh meat, pork and beef out of my freezer. Hmmmm. Albondigas, of course!
We both love Albondigas. It’s a really light and healthy soup, that is very deeply satisfying, too. And, at this time of the year, it’s very warming. One of the beauties of making it is that you can make a couple zip-loks of extra meatballs that will serve for other dishes later, like spaghetti. Just toss ‘em into the freezer. Voila! A quick - and thrifty - meal on the fly.
One thing that I always keep in the freezer is half pound packages of ground meat. Chicken thigh meat. Pork. Veal. Beef. Venison. With those, I can whip up meatloaf and meatballs, or a killer Sauce Bolognese to Lasagna to chili. Don’t be shy asking the butcher to give you meat wrapped just that way. That’s his job. That’s what you pay for.
Meat balls - Makes about 30 meatballs
1/2 pound each, ground chicken thigh meat, pork and beef.
1/2 cup very finely minced sweet onion
3 baby carrots, very finely minced
1/3 cup finely minced celery (about one small stalk)
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange or tangerine peel
1 tsp salt
A couple pinches of ground pepper
1 teaspoon each, finely minced fresh thyme, rosemary, flat leaf parsley
A dash of Italian seasoning
1 thick end slice of whole wheat bread, processed in the food processor to a fine crumb
2 medium eggs, whisked
1/2 cup olive, canola or grapeseed oil for frying
Process the bread to make crumbs. Prep all the veggies. Combine the meat, seasonings, whisked egg, bread crumbs, and veggies and work together with your hands until mixed.
Heat the oil, over medium high heat, in a skillet. Fry the meatballs gently, turning to get fairly even browning. Remove as they brown to paper towels to drain. Freeze those you aren’t going to use.
Gringo Albondigas Soup - Serves four to five
Ingredients:
One medium zuchinni, roughly cut
7-10 baby carrots, whole
2 small stalks of celery, roughly chopped
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 large sweet onion, roughly chopped
1 medium sized leek, washed well and chopped
3-4 large shallots, peeled and roughly chopped or left whole, depending on size of cloves
3-4 cloves of garlic. Leave tiny cloves whole. Mince larger ones
About six cups of chicken stock. Use low sodium if at all possible
1/2 cup white wine - whatever you’re drinking
Optional: 2 tablespoons poultry demi-glace, and 2 tablespoons veal demi-glace
2 strips of fresh tangerine or orange peel
3-4 dried bay leaves
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh minced flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon each fresh minced thyme and oregano
( or substitute dried herbs. you’ll need more of them)
6 tablespoons of oil for sauteeing the veggies.
about 9 to 10 of the meatballs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a large heavy bottomed pot, with a tight fitting lid, over medium high heat, sautee the veggies in the oil, for about five minutes. Add the stock, wine and seasonings. Cover and cook for about eight minutes, or until the veggies are beginning to get tender. Add the meatballs and lower the heat to simmer. Simmer the soup - covered - for about 40 minutes. Adjust seasonings - add more salt if you must. The addition of the citrus peel reduces the need for much salt. Serve with crusty artisan bread.
This soup makes a great leftover for lunch or dinner later!
-maven
