Albondigas

Or Spanish Meatball Soup :-)  This is one of my new favorite recipes.  Paul isn't as big a fan as I am, but he lives with it.  I didn't get this one from Spain...it is a variation of a recipe from Cooking Light (my fav!).

Here is the original recipe: Hidden Rainbow Albondigas
I never quite figured out the uncooked rice aspect of this recipe and when i tried to follow it by the book, i ended up with a mushy mess.  If anyone else would like to give it a try and has success, please let me know how it goes :-)

Back to my version...

Basically, raid your fridge for any veggies that need to get cooked.  Cabbage and carrots work particularly well, but really your imagination is the limit.

For the soup:
Chop veggies and saute in a little bit of olive oil.  Last night I started with garlic, added carrot, bell pepper and onion and some broccoli.  If you live with a veggie-phobe (one with irrational fear of vegetables) like I do, then saute veggies till caramelized.  Then add two cans of chopped tomatoes (or about 4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped).  Get the tomatoes good and boiling.  I then puree this mixture to make a soup. note: if you don't have a hand blender i highly recommend getting one.  it is the most versatile tool in the kitchen that i simply cannot live without (especially given my husbands fear of crunchy veggies in his food)!  Back to the soup, add water or chicken stock to thin the mixture a bit and return to stove to simmer while you prepare the meatballs.  Be careful not to turn the heat up too high or you will scorch the bottom of the pan.

Meatballs:
In a food processor, shred your veggies.  I used carrot, bell pepper, onion and a little bit of broccoli.  You want about the same volume of meat to veggie mixture.

Combine the veggies and 1 lb of lean ground beef (or you could use another meat...chicken, turkey or pork)

Add:
1 egg
1 cup of bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste.  feel free to add your favorite seasonings.  be creative!
mix well

once the meat mixture is well blended, start forming 1 1/2" balls and drop them into the simmering tomato soup.

simmer until the meat is cooked (about 30 minutes or as long as you need to get the rest of the meal together...you really can't overcook this one).  the meat gives the tomato soup a wonderful flavor.  Given the fact that you do cook the meat in the soup, i would recommend using a lean cut.

serve with pasta and top with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!