Albondigas! I even love the sound of the word. Meatballs! Sounds good too but it just doesn’t have the same excitement to it. They mean the same thing but the translation is in the ingredients. This is not your traditional albondigas soup. No rice in the meatballs (faster) with hominy and blacks beans in the broth. Albondigas!
It was a cold and blustery day. The wind was howling and an occasional clap of thunder and bolt of lightening would pierce the sky. And hail, there was hail! It could have been a dreary day, but no! It was a fantastic day! But it was a day that could be made even better with a hot, steamy bowl of hearty soup! Soup to the rescue!
Albondigas means meatballs in Spanish. It’s up to the creator of the meatball to decide how it rolls out. Today’s meatball will have no rice. No need to be sad. We call on some other carb-y friends to take its place. Black beans and hominy. If you have never tried hominy, you are in for a treat. Hominy is kernels of corn that have been soaked in lime juice and salt until they puff up. It’s kind of like a soft version of corn nuts, only these won’t crack your teeth off!
Then there is Sambal Oelek. Sambal for short in my house. What can I say……I always have a jar in the fridge and I add it to all kinds of soups, sauces and marinades. If you like spicy flavors then you really should be cooking with this wonder ingredient! Basically chilies, salt and vinegar. A little goes a long way so add it a bit at a time until you reach your heat level. Mouth- warmingly pleasant to blow your socks off hot! It’s all up to you, the creator of your soup!
Turkey Albondigas Vegetable Soup
Place the ground turkey, cumin, chipotle powder, salt, pepper and cilantro in a medium bowl and combine.
Roll the turkey into little meatballs (about 30-32 meatballs) between your palms. Roll with a lightly firm pressure so they will hold together in the soup but not so hard they are compressed little shot puts!
Set aside until ready to place into the soup.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute the onion until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the carrots and celery and saute another 4-5 minutes until softened.
Add the zucchini, no salt seasoning and salt (so you can control the amount of salt). Saute for 2-3 minutes until softened. All vegetables should be soft but still have a firm feel. This makes the soup taste fresh and homemade and retains the vegetables health benefits.
Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for several more minutes.
Add the turkey meatballs to the soup. Make sure the soup comes to a slight boil, high simmer. The meatballs need to be cooked quickly.
Reduce to simmer and cook another 10 minutes. As the meatballs cook, they will rise to the surface. Don’t stir the soup while the meatballs are cooking and don’t boil the soup or the meatballs may break apart.
Add the black beans…
…and hominy and heat through.
Add cilantro, lime juice….
…..and sambal to the soup. Sambal refers to the sauce made with chile peppers and Oelek refers to the mortar and pestle used to make this type of sambal. Fun tidbit!
Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. It’s ready to savor!
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium organic carrots, sliced
- 3 stalks of celery, sliced in rings and chopped leaves
- 2 small zucchini, cut in quarters
- 2 teaspoons No Salt seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 64 ounces organic chicken broth
- 2 – 15 ounce cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 – 25 ounce can of hominy, drained
- 2 large limes, juiced
- 1 tablespoon Sambal Oelek (start with 1 teaspoon and add to your heat preference)
- 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- Place the ground turkey, cumin, chipotle powder, salt, pepper and cilantro in a medium bowl and combine.
- Roll the turkey into little meatballs (about 30-32 meatballs) between your palms. Roll with a lightly firm pressure so they will hold together in the soup.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute the onion until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the carrots and celery and saute another 4-5 minutes until softened.
- Add the zucchini, no salt seasoning and salt (so you can control the amount of salt). Saute for 2-3 minutes until softened. All vegetables should be soft but still have a firm feel. This makes the soup taste fresh and homemade and retains the vegetables health benefits.
- Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer for several more minutes.
- Add the turkey meatballs to the soup. Make sure the soup comes to a slight boil. The meatballs need to be cooked quickly.
- Reduce to simmer and cook another 10 minutes. As the meatballs cook, they will rise to the surface. Don't stir the soup while the meatballs are cooking and don't boil the soup or the meatballs may break apart.
- Add the black beans and hominy and heat through.
- Add cilantro, lime juice and sambal to the soup.
- Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. It's ready to savor!
