Albondigas Soup / Mexican Meatball Soup

I've been meaning to try this for a while now and in keeping up with our Soup Saturdays, I finally had the chance! I paired this soup with cheese quesadilla and it was perfect for a light Saturday night dinner.

Here's what you'll need to make the soup:
1 lb ground pork
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 T peeled and coarsely chopped garlic
1 egg
1 cup white bread crumbs, plain (like panko)
1 T cooking oil
1 box chicken broth
1 cube chicken bouillon
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 small jalapeño, diced and removed of the seeds
1 small can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

How to make:
1. In order to make a less than lumpy meatball, place half the 1/2 bunch of cilantro, 1/2 the onions, and garlic in a blender and pulsed until finely chopped. Then, transfer to a medium sized bowl, add the ground pork and add the egg and slowly add bread crumbs. The mixture should not be sticky nor too dry so you may not use all the bread crumbs. When you've successfully caught all the pork from the sides of the bowl, you have the right consistency. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper to taste.

2. Heat a large pot (where you will eventually cook all the soup) and drizzle the oil. When hot, form meatballs about 1 inch wide and pre-cook in the oil. You don't have to cook through, just brown all sides. You may not be able to fit in all the meatballs in one batch, so once browned on all sides, transfer to a plate.

3. Once all meatballs are browned and on a plate, saute the rest of the onions and scrape off the bottom of the pan. Add the carrots, jalapeño, and celery.  Cook until tender - about 7 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and the cilantro. Continue to cook about 5 minutes.

4. Add the chicken broth and bouillon cube. Add water, if needed, to make more soup, if preferred. Add salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs to cook through, depending on size of the meatballs. Then add the potatoes. Keep on medium heat. Don't let the potatoes get overcooked as this tastes better with crunchy vegetables.

5. Make sure it's seasoned according to taste by adding more salt and pepper, as desired. Optional: sprinkle with cheese on top prior to serving.

We served this with cheese quesadilla which was very easy to make. Simply heat butter in a pan, and lay one tortilla to heat through. Add shredded cheese (any kind of cheese would do, depending on preference). Fold the tortilla in half and allow the cheese to melt. Serve hot.