Mexican Meatball Soup

The dried Ancho chili really gives the soup a nice flavor boost. Ancho chilies can be found whole or ground in most grocery stores. Look in the produce section or in the ethnic food aisle. Double the recipe and make enough to freeze!

Meatball Ingredients
1 lb ground beef,
½ lb ground pork
½ cup onion minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika, preferably smoked
½ cup packed shredded sweet potato
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper

Soup Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 whole ancho chili or 1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp kosher salt
Pinch of sugar
1 cup roasted red peppers (jarred or homemade)
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock

Make Meatballs - Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all the meatball ingredients by hand in a large bowl. Do not over mix! Shape meat mixture into one tablespoon size meatballs. This recipe should make approximately 20 meatballs. Place meatballs on a large cookie sheet and bake until cooked through and brown. About for 25-30 minutes.

Make Soup Base - Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add cumin, bay leaf and ancho chili. Sauté for another five minutes. Add salt, pinch of sugar, red peppers, tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and ancho chili. (Leave ancho for spicier soup).

Puree the soup in the pot with a immersion blender. If you use a traditional blender, put a towel over the cover – the steam may blow the lid off and cause soup to fly out.

Pour the soup back into the pot. Add meatballs to pot of soup and simmer for another five-ten minutes. Garnish with crumbled tortilla chips or chopped avocado.

Tip - Make cleanup easy by covering the cookie sheet with tin foil. Recipe doubles easily for freezing