Albondigas - Mexican meatball soup

This morning I woke up a little stuffed up with what I hoped was just some seasonal allergies. But as it turns out it, it's more like the start of a cold.  When I was young my mom was the best at making my brother and I feel better.  If it was a cold, rainy, Seattle day, we would try to get as wet as possible because we knew our mother would be there to greet us with hot coco full of marshmallows.  And when we were sick she would always make us soup.  This is one of the soups she would just whip up. It's light and hardy all at the same time. And it makes you feel like you've just been hugged.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef (you could use turkey or chicken)

1/3 cup short grain rice

1 egg

1/4 cup olive oil

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrot, diced

1 med. yellow onion, diced

1 med. Idaho potato, diced

1 28oz can of good diced tomatoes, drained

A couple pinches of dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1 qrt  beef stock

3 qrts water

Method:

First make the meatballs. Place the ground beef, egg, rice and a good pinch of salt and pepper in a medium bowl and mix all together.  Form small balls with your hands and place on a sheet tray. You can use a small ice cream scoop to help make uniform sizes

 Place the celery, onion, carrots, and oregano in a large pot with the olive oil, and sweat the vegetables with a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Add the diced tomatoes and the diced potato. mix to incorporate. Add the beef stock and the water.  My mom only used water but I like to add just a little stock for a layer of flavor. Bring to a  simmer on low to med. heat. Gently add the meatballs.

Skim any impurities that may float to the top.  Check for seasoning.  You will most likely want to add some more salt and pepper at this point. Let simmer not boil for about 30 to 40 minutes until the rice in the meatballs is completely cooked.

I like to serve it with fresh cilantro on top.

Enjoy!