This fragrant and spicy soup is similar to traditional Albondigas which is a spicy Mexican meatball soup. So I thought, “Do you wanna meatball soup?” Get it? Tijuana Meatball Soup?
The idea for this soup came when I was making Cabbage Rolls. Huh? Yes! From Kraków to Tijuana. I had some leftover pork and beef mixture as well as some extra cooked rice. And I had a partial can of tomato juice. So that’s how Tijuana Meatball Soup was created. This recipe is based on a soup my mom makes called Mexican Meatball Soup. It’s tasty and as spicy as you want.
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How to make Tijuana Meatball Soup
Start by making the broth. Finely dice onion, carrots and celery. This is a “mirepoix” which is the base for most soups and stews. You want about 2 cups in total of this mixture. Sauté them in a bit of olive oil over low heat for a few minutes to soften. I do this to take the edge off the onions, sweeten them slightly. Add minced garlic, oregano, cayenne, cumin and salt. Sauté to allow the spices to “bloom” meaning release their flavour.
Now add the broth and a bay leaf. I like to use half vegetable and half chicken broth so the chicken flavour doesn’t overpower the other flavours. But you can use all chicken or veg if you like. And if you have homemade, that’s awesome! Use about 7-8 cups. Add the tomato juice and cilantro stems and bring to a simmer. The thing about fresh herbs is that they don’t like to be cooked and most turn dark when heated. But using the stems at this stage is perfectly ok. Unless you’re serving to cilantro haters. If so, just use fresh leaves at the end for garnish for those who love it. That would be me!
While your soup is simmering away, make the meatballs. I like to use a mixture of pork and beef because it has the right balance of fat and flavour. You don’t need egg and breadcrumbs to hold them together. The rice does the trick. Season the meat mixture with salt and pepper, garlic powder, cayenne and cumin. Mix in the rice and roll into small balls, about 2 inches or maybe a bit smaller. Pop them in the fridge until the broth has simmered for at least 20 minutes.
Next, seed and dice a jalapeño pepper or two. Taste and decide how much to use depending on your heat tolerance. Dice half a red pepper and half a green pepper. If you’re using red chili pepper, dice that too into very small pieces. Using layers of heat works well in Tijuana Meatball Soup. You can control the level and they each have different flavour profiles. You get a kick from cayenne pepper, a more subtle heat with flavour from jalapeños (in fact sometimes no heat at all) and then if you really want to turn it up, a fresh hot chili pepper or even a dried pepper will complete the heat.
Add the peppers and meatballs to the broth, taste and season with salt and pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir very gently so you don’t break up the meatballs. Add some fresh chopped cilantro leaves at the end so they keep their nice green colour and add a fresh flavour.
Scoop Tijuana Meatball Soup into bowls and add sliced green onion, a squeeze of lime and more fresh chopped cilantro if desired.
If you’re in the mood for more meatball soups, you should try Italian Wedding Soup.
Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper optional, use more or less if desired
- 1 bay leaf or 2 if small or older
- 1 carton chicken broth 900 grams
- 1 carton vegetable broth
- 1½ cups tomato juice
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- ½ sweet red pepper
- ½ sweet green pepper
- 1 hot red chili pepper if desired for extra heat
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh chopped cilantro stems
Meatballs
- ½ lb lean ground beef
- ½ lb lean ground pork
- ¾ cup cooked rice
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- pinch cayenne
- salt and pepper
Garnish
- 1 minced green onion
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- fresh chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Finely dice celery, onion and carrots. Sauté in olive oil at medium-low heat until softened. Add minced garlic, oregano, cumin, cayenne and salt and pepper. Sauté a minute or so to allow flavours to bloom.
- Add chicken and vegetable broth, tomato juice, cilantro stems and bay leaf. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Combine ground beef and pork, rice and seasoning. Shape into small balls, no larger than 2 inches in diameter. Refrigerate until soup has simmered for 20 minutes.
- Gently add meatballs to soup. Mince jalapeño, sweet peppers and hot pepper if using. Add to soup. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Add fresh cilantro at the end before serving.
- Serve hot with fresh chopped cilantro, lime wedge and green onion.
I’ll keep this one. I have a great albondigas recipe, but this is a delicious variation. Have you tried searing the meatballs before they go into the broth? It helps mine stay together a little more.
That’s a great idea! I’m going to do that next time. I’d love to try your recipe.
Its not as spicey as you would think. Its almost a Pico de gallo soup. I’ll write it down