Meatballs/Albondigas
Serve over white rice and accompany with tortillas.
Mexican meatball soup, or “sopa de albondigas” is another one of those meals that has many iterations and can be found in as many countries as there are versions of this culturally adept little sphere. Swedish meatballs are served with a brown gravy and linden-berry jam. At least that what IKEA has me believing. I’ve had Thai meatballs with a spicy mint broth that were delicious, and I adore Greek and Middle Eastern versions accompanied by all the savory sides and sauces. The Italians have all but owned the meatball category with the ubiquitous spaghetti and meatballs. I guess because ground meat is readily available, inexpensive and easy to work with, it’s no surprise that so many cultures have borrowed some form of this adaptable and lovable, edible sphere.
The Mexican version of meatballs that my grandmother taught me to make has been a staple in our family for generations. I like to serve them with white rice and my “soup” has evolved into more of a stew. The last time I made albondigas I tried a new way of making them that turned out quite well and super easy so I wanted to share it.
I stumbled on this recipe because I had an abundance of salsa (pico de gallo) left over one weekend after a party at our home. As usual, I bought a lot more stuff than needed and I hated to throw it out so I took a chance on this idea and happily, it worked out. Since salsa has everything a good Mexican tomato sauce has I thought I could just simmer it until it thickened. That didn’t quite work out. The sauce didn’t thicken because of the high water content and all the lemon and vinegar in it. I had some concentrated tomato sauce, “sofrito” so I added that to the fresh salsa, and voila! The sauce thickened, turned a nice, deep red and tasted great. I added the pan-fried meatballs and served over rice with fresh cilantro. Delish! My husband, who always notices when I take a shortcut in a recipe, did not have anything to say, and that’s saying a lot.
Serve over Mexican rice with avocado garnish, cilantro and Mexican cheese.
