Albóndigasis Spanish for meatballs. Ours are lightened with grated zucchini.
成分
Makes 6 first-course or 4 main-course servings
Meatballs:
Soup:
Toppings:
For meatballs:
Step 1
Line large rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Char chiles over direct flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and steam 10 minutes. Stem, seed, and peel chiles, then chop finely (should yield about 3/4 cup).
Step 2
Place chiles in large bowl. Gently mix in beef and all remaining ingredients. Using moistened hands and scant tablespoonful for each, roll meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs on sheet.
For soup:
Step 3
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion with any juices and garlic. Sauté until onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add chile powder and cumin; stir 1 minute. Add broth and oregano; bring to rolling boil. Reduce heat to very low, just below bare simmer, and cook 10 minutes.
Step 4
Stir zucchini and rice into broth. Increase heat to medium and drop in meatballs, 1 at a time. Return soup to simmer. Cover and cook gently until meatballs and rice are cooked through, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to avoid boiling, about 20 minutes. Add 1/4 cup cilantro and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Season soup with salt and add more lime juice by teaspoonfuls, if desired.
For toppings:
Step 5
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat 1 minute. Add half of tortilla strips. Cook until crisp, gently separating strips with tongs, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer strips to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil if needed.
Step 6
Ladle soup and meatballs into bowls. Top with tortilla strips and cilantro.
Step 7
- Often called pasillas; available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores, farmers' markets, and Latin markets.
Step 8
**Available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets.
Step 9
***Available in the spice section of many supermarkets and at Latin markets.
Nutrition Per Serving
How would you rate Poblano Albóndigas with Ancho Chile Soup?
Leave a Review
Reviews (32)
Back to TopThe soup is a bit of work to make but it is delicious! We make it at my house every few months. The recipe, as written, is excellent.
Matt S.
CT
10/23/2021
My usual "go to" recipe for Mexican meatball soup is the Mexican Meatball Soup (Bon Appetit, 12/2000) also on Epicurious. This Poblano Albondigas, which I've made once, is more labor intensive, but has a richer flavor. If I make it again, I would definitely double the rice, and I would reduce the amount of Ancho chile powder to 2 TBS, and then add to taste. (I used McCormick's ancho chile poweder.) The soup was a little too spicy for my husband's tastes. Also, the meatballs in this recipe tended to fall apart; using the other recipe they do not.
katemossnj
South Jersey
2/28/2012
I added 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes to the base and upped the rice to about 1/2 cup. Made the meatballs pretty much according to the recipe except I only used 1 tsp. of cumin. Thought 1 tbls. might be overpowering. Topped each bowl with lime juice, chopped cilantro and diced avocado. Fantastic!
ljf0625
Nebury Park, CA
9/21/2011
This is a flavorful recipe but I agree with others that the cumin overwhelms the rest of the flavors. I made this a second time, adjusting the cumin to 1 teaspoon in both the meatballs and soup. I also added slices of avocado to the soup just before serving. It was a much better dish to serve the second time around.
MissWest
Dayton, Ohio
5/18/2011
后在圣地亚哥寻找最好的老板wl of Albondigas, we gave up and decided to try it ourselves...I followed this recipe pretty much as it was written. The amount of cumin was just right,as well as the ancho powder. The Poblano chiles are well worth the time to roast and peel etc, don't take the easy way out and use canned green chiles, it is a whole different flavor! I added carrots and half cobs of corn, as this is the way it's done in S. Calif! It was delicious, the cilantro and lime on top are just another layer of goodness! Will definitely keep this recipe in my book!
bullysma
San Diego
2/14/2011
This was a mix of hits and misses. We used canned mild green chiles in the meatballs; they have always proved much easier to use than roasting and peeling peppers. I doubt that sub caused it, but our meatballs totally fell apart while simmering. And like some other reviewers, we had a "fat slick" floating on top of the finished product. (I never got that from Italian Wedding or similar meatball soups) There was too much ancho chili powder, but that allowed me to discover its flavor. I think ancho will make a much better chili con carne than normal chili powder. And for some strange reason, the amount of chili powder seemed to talk all the flavor of salt away. Despite everything, I will say this: the soup WAS tasty. I doubt I'll ever make this particular recipe again, but I did learn a lot from it.
vodkandtonic
Stroudsburg, PA
1/23/2011
Loved this recipe. But I tweaked everything. haha. For the meatballs I used ground turkey, I omitted the poblano chiles, zucchini, and cumin. I substituted the chiles with a bit of serrano chiles, zucchini with carrots, and cumin with paprika and black pepper. For the soup I omitted the cumin and substituted with more powder chile. I added potatoes, carrots and corn to the soup. And also substituted the beef broth with chicken. And I didnt bother with the tortilla chips. I used avocado for toppings. Best albondigas I've made so far. I'm sure following the recipe would be delicious too, I just didnt have the ingredients.
dayvidr
Los Angeles, Ca
1/5/2011
Using what I already had: lean ground turkey instead of beef, red pepper instead of poblano chiles, finely chopped celery and grated potatoes instead of zucchini, and sprouted wheat breadcrumbs instead of panko. For a rainy Sunday afternoon, and not wanting to leave the house, I think it turned out very well. I think the measurements for the cumin were just fine, unlike some of the other reviewers. I did skimp on the salt and I used low-salt vegetable broth instead of beef broth. I also didn't have any cilantro in the house and traded lemon for the lime. Great to freeze and eat left-over as well!!
Anonymous
San Francisco, CA
11/16/2010
We will make this again. I used 22% fat ground beef and it was too fatty. Leftovers were great with fat skimmed off. My husband was melting from the spice, but I didnt detect any so added lots of Cholula! I used about 1.5 lbs meat so we'd have more meatballs. Loved avocado on top!
Anonymous
Ellensburg, Wa
10/21/2010
Loved this recipe. My family requests it regularly.
loribacca
Huntington Beach, CA
9/11/2010
I really liked the soup base, but I wasn't too impressed with the meatballs. I would suggest cutting back on the cumin in the meatballs and I would prefer pork over beef in the future. I agree with others that there needs to be more rice.
ontherooftop
Indiana
8/22/2010
The broth was delightful and super easy to make. The meatballs could have used a bit more salt. I think next time I will add chipotles to them for a little extra flavor.
sophiadavidson
5/20/2010
I had higher hopes for this one as albondigas soup has been a favorite at our house for many years and thought that the addition of roasted poblano and crispy tortilla strips would be a great touch. Agree with other reviewers that the spice is a bit out of balance and the soup overall needs more substance. For the "leftovers" I added some frozen corn and sliced zucchini and it was much improved. Agree that some diced tomatoes would be good. I'll still probably go back to my own Albondigas Soup - to be posted soon!!
einerson
Hilliard Ohio-but learned Albondigas in CA
3/23/2010
I had high hopes for this, but we couldn't even eat this. There was WAY too much cumin in the meatballs. My internal alarm was going off using it and just a pound of ground beef. I didn't even put the cumin in the broth so we at least had that with a jalapeno - cheese piece of bread. Lived in the SW for a LONG time, but this was just WAY WAY too much cumin. So all those meatballs hit the trash. Which is SUCH a waste. We can normally "eat" things that don't turn out quite right, but this was just nasty.
valkyri3
Currently CrossvilleTN
3/15/2010
A great recipe. It does take a while to do all the steps, but well worth the result. I cut back on the quantities of some of the spices in the meatballs . . for instance, a tablespoon of dried cumin is fairly extreme. Let's just say you won't have any trouble picking out the flavor. same goes for Mexican oregano . . it is potent stuff. But if you like your flavors brash and bold, the recipe quantities will work.
bananadan
Portland OR
1/31/2010
