Mexican Recipe: Albóndigas Soup

Meatballs are a sort of food that's found all over the world. We can find them from Afghanistan to Sweden, to Romania and to Spain. While in America, most of us have probably enjoyed and become most familiar with Italian meatballs, we wanted to try something a little different: a Mexcian albóndigas soup!

Albóndigas is traditionally a Spanish or Latin American dish served as an appetizer with a tomato sauce. In Mexico, however, albóndigas is served typically a soup served in a light broth and with vegetables. What really makes this meatball soup shine is its lightness from chopped mint and a depth from fresh oregano. Add some corn for a little sweetness. Keep reading below for this delicious soup...

Albóndigas Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2lb string beans, ends cut off and cut into 1" pieces
• 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/3 cup raw white rice
• 1/2lb ground beef
• 1/2lb ground pork
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook a minute more, or until fragrant. Add the stock and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then add the carrots or string beans.
2. Mix together the rice and meat. Add in the mint leaves, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix in the egg, then form the mixture into 1" meatballs.
3. Add the meatballs to the simmering soup, one at a time. Cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. Add the corn after 20 minutes, then add oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with bread and garnish with cilantro.
4. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Soup: Mexican Chicken Posole

For a fantastic, hearty Mexican stew, why not try a delicious posole? This stew originate from the 19th century and is made traditionally with "hominy", or dried maize kernels. It's now served in Mexican restaurants the world 'round and is absolutely worth making yourself!

To simplify this dish, we used a slow cooker. This let us prepare the soup in the morning, and it was done by the end of the work day. To start with, we layered our vegetables on the bottom of the crock pot then placed the chicken thighs over. For flavor, we used oregano, garlic, cumin, red pepper, and a few other fantastic spices. Keep reading below for this excellent recipe...

Slow Cooker Posole Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon back pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 large jalapenos, cut in half and seeded
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, sliced thin
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves plus more for garnish
• 2 onions, diced
• 1 can corn kernels, drained
• 4 canned tomatillos, drained and coarsely chopped
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3lbs boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 30oz can hominy
• 1/2 ripe peeled avocado, diced
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Layer half of the onion and celery on the bottom of the crock pot. Layer the chicken thigh pieces on top of the corn, tomatillos, and remaining onion and celery. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Add the garlic, the rest of the onion slices, chicken stock, bay leaves, jalapenos, and lime juice. Cover and set on high to cook for 4-4 1/2 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours, or until the meat is tender.
2. Remove the meat from the crockpot and set aside to cool enough to handle. Shred the chicken thighs. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Remove the jalapeno halves and chop finely. Add the carrots and hominy. Cover and cook on high for an additional half hour or until warmed through and the carrots are tender.
3. Garnish with avocado, radishes, and cilantro.
4. Enjoy!

Appetizer Recipe: Spicy Corn Salsa

Sometimes salsas are just too soupy and overpowering—we like more of a fresh veggie element to our dips, so we decided to try this spicy corn salsa. If you like spice, you’ll love this recipe as is; if you don’t love it, leave the jalapeños out of the mix. You can’t go wrong either way.

This salsa is fresh and invigorating, and the perfect accompaniment to any main course. It’s as great on top of a southwestern-style salad, as it is eaten by itself. Pico de gallo, or your typical chunky tomato salsa is tasty, but this recipe is a really nice way to change things up a little. Share the love with corn and let it shine in this quick dip!

Spicy Corn Salsa

Serves 8

 Ingredients

• 3 cups corn, cooked and off the cob
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 purple onion, diced
• 1-1 1/2 jalapeños, seeds removed, diced
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine corn, tomatoes, onions, jalapeños and scallions. Toss together.
2. Add cilantro and chili powder and pour lime juice over the top. Mix well.
3. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
4. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Serve with tortilla chips.

Breakfast Recipe: Huevos Rancheros

Nothing says hearty quite like eggs, and huevos rancheros steps things up a notch. Spanish for "rancher's eggs," huevos rancheros, is a Mexican-style breakfast (or brunch!) dish that grew from rural farmers and ranchers. It has a great heat to it, and can be made a variety of ways ("Huevos divorciados," for example, is the rancheros served with two eggs, but each egg has a different sauce).

Today's recipe is a simple huevos rancheros with homemade salsa. To save time, feel free to use jarred and skip to step 9. To really spread that Mexican flavor around, we cooked the eggs in the salsa and topped it all with some red onions and cilantro. Frying the tortillas before assembling the ingredients on top of them also helped add some good texture variety to what would otherwise be a very soft dish. Keep reading below to see how we assembled our own huevos rancheros...

Huevos Rancheros

(makes 4 servings)

Ingredients

• 3 medium jalapeno peppers, halved, seeded, and the ribs removed
• 1 1/2lbs plum tomatoes cored and halved
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
• 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
• black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
• 4 corn tortillas
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup refried beans with green chilies (optional)
• 1 red onion, diced for garnish

 Directions

1. To assemble the salsa, preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Mince one jalapeno and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, remaining jalapenos, onion, garlic, tomato paste, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, and cayenne. Toss to mix thoroughly.
4. Place vegetables cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until the tomatoes are tender and the skins begin to shrivel and brown (about 30 to 45 minutes).
5. Let vegetables cool for about 10 minutes.
6. Transfer onions, garlic, and jalapenos to a food processor or blender and process until broken down (about 10 seconds), pausing halfway through to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula.
7. Add tomatoes and process until the salsa is slightly chunky (about 10 more seconds).
8. Add 2 tablespoons cilantro, reserved jalapeno, salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste.
9. To assemble the huevos rancheros, bring salsa to a gentle simmer 
10. Remove from the heat, and make four shallow wells in the salsa with the back of a large spoon.
11. Break one egg into a cup, then gently pour the egg into a well in the salsa. repeat with remaining eggs.
12. Season each egg  with salt and pepper to taste, then cover the skillet and place over medium-low heat.
13. Cook until you've reached the desired consistency. 4 to 5 minutes will give you runny yolks, and 6 to 7 minutes will give you set yolks.
14. Meanwhile, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat.
15. Fry tortillas one at a time until firm, but not crisp.
16. Remove to paper towels and pat down.
17. Place tortillas on serving plates, and divide refried beans between them if using.
18. Gently scoop and place one egg onto each tortilla, then spoon the salsa around each egg, covering tortillas.
19. Sprinkle with cheese and red onion, then add cilantro for garnish.
20. Enjoy!