Albondigas - Mexican Meatball Soup

Austria and Sweden fry theirs; the Chinese like theirs steamed; while Poland covers them in gravy and Japan coats in Panko crumbs. In Vietnam, they float in brothy Pho; in Brazil, they are served over rice; in Iran, they are stuffed with a boiled egg, and in Greece -- mint leaves. In this week's recipe, The 99 Cent Chef does his meatballs the Latin way -- studded with rice and seasoned with cumin, and floating in a tomato broth loaded with vegetables.

 

I like meatballs. You can see for yourself by clicking on my past recipes: Ingmar Bergman Swedish Meatballs, a Meatball Sub, and my Lighter Than Air Meatballs & Spaghetti. Now you can add Albondigas Soup to the chalkboard menu.

The main spice is cumin, which is from the Middle East, but this dish actually originated in Spain. (Albondigas is Spanish for meatball.) When I don't have curry powder on hand, cumin gets me most of the way there. Cumin gives bland ground poultry a pungent and aromatic kick. And for stuffing meatballs, rice is a tasty change of pace.

My Albondigas is economical. Normally it's made with ground beef, but that is too expensive for this Chintzy Chef. I prefer to use deli case frozen ground turkey or chicken, which I normally get for about $1 per pound. And ground turkey is low in fat, so your soup will not be oily, like it would be at a regular Mexican restaurant.

Rice, potatoes, celery, onions and carrots can be bought cheaply anywhere. I also added Mexican squash, but zucchini or yellow squash is a tasty substitute. This dish is adaptable with whatever veggies you have on hand. I used cilantro because my neighborhood Latin market always has it on sale, but don't worry if you don't have it locally; this soup will be delish without it.  I like to change up my recipes by adding or dropping ingredients -- it will not be lacking, just different.

So give my Albondigas Soup a try. It is easy to do and tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients for Soup (about 4 servings)

• 8 cups of water - or combo of favorite broth and water.
• 8 ounce can of tomato sauce - okay to use any type of canned or fresh chopped tomatoes.
• 1 large potato - I used 2 small potatoes, cubed
• 1 large carrot - sliced
• 1 celery rib - sliced
• 1 whole onion - chopped
• 1 Mexican squash - okay to use zucchini or yellow squash, cubed.
• 1 tablespoon garlic - chopped fresh or from jar.
• 1 bunch cilantro - optional. Use half the bunch, and save some for plating.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for Rice Meatball

• 1 pound or ground turkey or chicken - okay to use more expensive ground meat.
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano - optional
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 cup of uncooked rice - I used brown but you can use white as well - For cooked rice use one cup, and reduce cooking time by going right to Final Cooking Directions.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions for Meatballs
Start heating 8 cups of water in a large soup pot. In a large bowl add ground turkey (or chicken), egg, rice, dried oregano and ground cumin. Mix well.

The messy part is forming small meatballs - about 1 to 1.5 inch diameter each (and fits into a tablespoon). I made about 14 meatballs. If water is boiling, turn to low and carefully add each meatball to pot as you form them.

When all the meatballs are in the water, add chopped onion, celery, garlic and 1/2 of the chopped cilantro. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Turn up heat and bring to a boil, cover pot and reduce heat to low. (If you used cooked rice in meatballs then go right to next paragraph). Cook 1/2 hour for white rice or 45 minutes for brown rice. Turn meatballs a couple of times during cooking to make sure rice cooks through.

Final Cooking Directions
Add can of tomato sauce, and chopped potatoes, carrots and more cilantro (set aside a few sprigs for presentation) to soup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook 1/2 hour. Lastly, add zucchini or Mexican squash (or any quick cooking veggies you like), then cover and cook another 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness is reached. Serve hot with a few sprigs of fresh cilantro.

Stuffed Bell Peppers - Mexican Style

Uncooked Mexican chorizo has the texture of a meat frosting. Yeah, that's not very appetizing, but when cooked, its fragrance and flavor is intense with Mexican chile and sweetbreads. The ingredients list (try reading it with a magnifying glass) is not for the faint of heart: cheek, tongue, glands, and lymph nodes? Yikes! Nothing sweet or doughy there. But, sauteed with onion and garlic, man is it freaking tasty! Try my chorizo and egg taco sometime if you don't believe me (click here).

It's trendy now to cook "head to tail"
-- but Mexican cooks have been doing this quite a while. Nothing is tastier than a taco made with cabeza (meat scraped off the skull) or lingua (tongue) from an East L.A. food truck (click here for my Halloween video post featuring scary meats).

Even Top Chef 's hunky dude Ludovic Lefebvre created a "chicken marinated in chorizo" dish (I'm going to rip-off, I mean adapt) for his latest LudoBites 6.0 pop-up restaurant (great photos by kevinEats, here).

Most stuffed bell pepper recipes call for ground meat with tomato sauce -- sorry, but that's boring to this cheapie epicurean. How about a budget Mexican version with ingredients including: enchilada sauce, rice, ground turkey and chorizo? I recently came up with it, and it's delicious. Ground turkey is bland until you mix in sauteed chorizo, and enchilada sauce over roasting bell peppers makes a unique savory pairing.

If you can't handle (or find) Mexican chorizo, my recipe is adaptable - just adding enchilada sauce over your typical stuffed bell pepper recipe is a unique flavor combination and well worth a go.

Ingredients (serves 3 - 4)

• 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
• 4 bell peppers - medium to large.
• 1 small can of red enchilada sauce - about 10 ounces.
• 1/2 package of Mexican chorizo - about 5 ounces.
• 1 cup of cooked rice - white or brown.
• 1 package of Queso Fresco (4 oz.) or your favorite cheese - optional.
• 1/2 onion - chopped
• 1 large egg (or 2 medium).
• 1 teaspoon garlic - chopped, from jar or fresh.
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin - optional.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• * I had a few leftover mushrooms that I cut up and added - optional.

Directions
Saute onions (I added a couple of extra mushrooms) and chorizo until oil renders, about 10 minutes. Break apart and mix in ground turkey (or chicken). Sprinkle in ground cumin (optional) and chopped garlic. Cook about 7-10 minutes until turkey is no longer raw.

In a large bowl, add meat, cooked rice*, egg, cheese and mix well. Slice each bell pepper lengthwise, remove seeds and white membrane. Fill each bell pepper with meat mixture and set in a large roasting pan (or 2). Top each filled bell pepper with plenty of enchilada sauce.

Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour.

*If you do not have cooked rice on hand, here's a simple rice recipe -- add 1/2 cup of rice in 1 cup of water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Allow to rest covered for another 5 minutes.

Meatball Sub

My latest recipe takes on a Bronx Italian Deli sandwich classic, the Meatball Sub. Forget about any other chef's recipe - mine whacks the competition, as theirs belong as buoys floating in the East River!

Meatballs made of  ground beef and pork sausage typically make for a heavy Italian meal, but I lighten things up by using budget-priced ground turkey. And I add plenty of flavor with Italian herbs and dried Parmesan cheese.

We don't have many Italian Delis in L.A., but I am fortunate to be recently working near one, Bay Cities Italian Deli (click here), on 1517 Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica.  It has an expansive deli case with all kinds of prepared pasta salads, cooked lasagna, and deli sandwiches made with fresh baked bread.

The bread for my Meatball Sub uses a great 99c Only Store find -- the Mexican rolls called Bolillos. (Grill them one minute for a crunchy crust.) The 99c Only Store usually has one-pound tubes of ground turkey in the frozen deli case, and most regular groceries sell the same kind of ground turkey for just over a dollar. French rolls also make a good sandwich bread, but you can use any type of firm dinner rolls.

For this recipe, I make a tomato sauce from scratch, but you can use any favorite sauce from a jar, can or box.

So try out The 99 Cent Chef's Meatball Sub - a recipe any NYC Italian mama would be proud to serve, and Buon appetito!

Ingredients for Meatballs (makes 4 sandwiches)

1 lb. ground turkey - okay to use ground beef, pork, chicken, or any combination.
1/2 cup of bread crumbs - or crumble a slice of any bread you have on hand.
2 tbsp. of dried Parmesan - optional.
2 tbsp. of milk
1 tbsp. total of dried Italian herbs - parsley, basil and/or oregano. I included fresh basil.
1 egg
Pepper to taste - I left out salt, as dried Parmesan has plenty for me.
1 tbsp. of oil for cooking.

4 bread rolls for sandwiches - Italian, Mexican, French or regular dinner rolls. I found 5 Mexican Bolillos rolls for 99.99 cents - which have an extra crunchy crust when grilled.
Optional to add sliced or grated cheese for final sub assembly - provolone, mozzarella or any cheese you like.

Directions for Meatballs
In a large pan add tablespoon of oil over medium heat. In a large bowl add ground turkey - pour off any liquid. Add the rest of the meatball ingredients. Mix well and form into two-inch balls (the meatball should not be too large or you will never wrap your mouth around the sub). Add each meatball to heated pan as you form it. Brown a couple sides of each meatball, about 15 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside after they are all browned - don't worry about cooking them all the way through, they will soon be simmering in tomato sauce.


Meatball Tomato Sauce
*1 large (about 1 lb., 12 ounce) can of tomato sauce - okay to use whole or chopped tomatoes. Any type that is on sale, and with any pre-added herbs and mushrooms.
1/2 chopped onion and bell pepper
1 tbsp. of chopped garlic 
1/2 cup of white or red wine - for extra flavor, optional. Okay to use a chicken or beef bouillon cube.
1 teaspoon of dried Italian herbs - including basil, parsley, and/or oregano. I used fresh garden basil and dried oregano.

Directions for Tomato Sauce

In the same pan you browned the meatballs in, add chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic. Pour in a splash of wine or some tomato sauce to scrape loose browned bits in the pan. Saute veggies until soft, about 5 minutes. Add all the tomato sauce and wine. Since I used canned diced tomatoes, about halfway through cooking I crushed the tomatoes and veggies with a potato masher, to make a smoother sauce.

Final Cooking Directions
Add meatballs to tomato sauce, cover and cook over low heat for about half an hour. Uncover and cook until sauce is reduced by half and thickened, about another 10 minutes.

*If you are doing a simple sauce without veggies, then cook canned tomato sauce with meatballs uncovered until sauce thickens, about 10-20 minutes. Turn off heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes -- so you don't burn yourself with the first bite!

I like to toast the bread. Assemble the meatball sub: spread some tomato sauce on sliced (toasted) bun, add a few meatballs (I fit three per bun), and top with mozzarella (or any cheese). If you like extra melted cheese, then pop sandwich into a preheated 350 degree oven, or toaster oven, for a minute.

Turkey & Black Bean Chili

Good anytime and quick too! This is a go-to recipe for a light, meaty chili in a hurry. A drained can of black beans, canned chopped tomato, and a pound of ground turkey, along with one onion, bell pepper, garlic and chili powder, is all you need.

I buy frozen one pound tubes of turkey for about a dollar a pound in the frozen deli case -- a defrosted package of ground turkey in the meat department is much more expensive (costing more than ground beef), but the flavor is not different enough for the extra expense, at least to this chintzy chef. Cans of black beans (or pinto/red) and chopped tomato are ready to heat up and cheap at any grocery. Onions and garlic are the other budget ingredients; I used yellow bell pepper, but green is a cheaper substitute.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

• 1 lb. ground turkey, defrosted - I use pre-frozen tubes from the frozen case, as it is cheaper.
• 15 oz. can of black beans - OK to substitute pinto or red beans. Drain out liquid.
• 15 oz. can of chopped, diced or crushed tomato (or fire-roasted, for extra flavor).
• 1 whole onion - chopped.
• 1 whole bell pepper - chopped -- OK to use red, yellow or green bell pepper.
• 1 tbsp. chopped garlic - fresh or from the jar.
• 1 tsp. of chili power - add an extra tsp., for an extra flavorful chili.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin - optional
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
Saute chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add turkey, chili powder, ground cumin and cook until done, 5-10 minutes. As turkey cooks break it apart into small to medium chunks. Pour in can of chopped tomato and drained black beans. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook covered for 20-30 minutes. I like to serve my chili with a little chopped onion and shredded cheese on top -- my wife likes hers with low-fat sour cream.

Serve over white or brown rice if you like - but this well-rounded dish is hearty enough to enjoy on its own.

Stuffed Eggplant - Italian Style

The Chef will float your boat using halved and hollowed eggplant shells, filled with ground turkey, sauteed veggies, tomato sauce, and topped with cheese, to make Stuffed Eggplant.

Riffing on a traditional Italian Eggplant Parmesan, this dish is perfect for all you carbo-phobic dieters (no pasta!). And you don't need to deep-fry slices of eggplant in oil, either. Hey, the Chef has to watch his waistline, too!

This is the ultimate budget recipe -- you only need half a package of ground turkey (or chicken), two eggplants and very little cheese, and it feeds four.

I picked up two large eggplants for 99.99 cents at this 99c only Store, and ground turkey is cheap at any grocery. Eggplant should be firm to the touch with no soft spots.

Basting the split eggplants with olive oil and then baking for half an hour makes for a tender flesh that you mix into the stuffing -- not wasting anything.

You can also use crumbled Italian sausage when it goes on sale. To go vegetarian, substitute cooked rice and sauteed mushrooms for meat.

My Stuffed Eggplant can go vegetarian by substituting cooked rice and sauteed mushrooms.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/2 lb. of ground turkey, chicken or sausage (o.k. to substitute cooked rice and sauteed mushrooms).
• 1 slice of bread - toasted and crumbled
• 1 cup shredded cheese (at least) - mozzarella, jack or your favorite.
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp. of olive oil - one for sauteing turkey/veggies, and three for basting eggplants.
• 1 tbsp. of chopped garlic - fresh or jar
• 1 tsp. Italian herbs - fresh or chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce - any type

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice eggplants length-wise and drizzle/brush with olive oil -- all sides. Make a few cuts into white flesh of eggplant to help it cook through - it will also make it easier to remove pulp later. Place on a cookie sheet and bake uncovered for half an hour. Go on to prepare stuffing for eggplants (after half an hour in the oven, remove eggplants and set aside to cool).

In a large pan, saute chopped onion, bell pepper and garlic in a tbsp. of olive oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add ground turkey, mix well with veggies, and cook until done -- about another 10 minutes. Set aside stuffing to cool. By this time, eggplant should be out of the oven and cooled down enough to remove most of the pulp from each eggplant. Leave about 1/4 of an inch -- don't worry if you break the purple outside skin when removing most of the cooked pulp, it will bake fine when stuffed.

In a large bowl mix the eggplant pulp, cooked turkey and veggies, along with tomato sauce, egg, crumbled toast and half the cheese -- you can make this dish as cheesy as you like by adding more. Salt and pepper to taste and add a tsp. (total) of any Italian herbs you have on hand. Fill each hollowed-out eggplant boat with stuffing -- pile it on, and top with the rest of the cheese. Return stuffed eggplants to the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes.


*You can make this recipe with a whole one-pound package of ground turkey as well. Just double other ingredients. Form a meatloaf from the left-over stuffing and bake along with the Stuffed Eggplants -- or fill a couple of more hollowed-out eggplants.

Mexi-Turkey Burger

Just in time for the 4th of July weekend this budget burger, based on South-of-the-border ingredients, is one hot summer palate pleaser. Combining ground turkey with Mexican chorizo renders a typical dry flavorless turkey burger into a moist spicy one.

Poultry must be cooked well-done, but don't worry because chorizo has a high fat content, so your Mexi-Turkey Burger will come out moist.

Mexican chorizo is soft ground and moist -- unlike Spanish chorizo, which is cured hard like salami. Mexican chorizo has a deep flavored red chile taste -- spiced with paprika, Mexican oregano, garlic powder and a minimal amount of red pepper heat.

It is sold on sale at local Latin markets and in the cold deli case of my neighborhood 99c only Store in 10 oz. casings of ground pork or beef.

I suggest mixing one part chorizo with 3 parts ground turkey. This will also help firm up typically mushy ground poultry and keep it from drooping through your barbecue grill grate. Top the Chef's Mexi/turkey burger with crumbled queso fresco cheese (still being carried in 99c only Stores) and your favorite 99.99 cent salsa.

Chorizo freezes well, and the rest can be sauteed and then scrambled into eggs for a filling breakfast taco or burrito. This inexpensive pairing of chorizo and ground turkey adds up to a delectable budget barbecue that must be paired with an ice cold cerveza.

Ingredients (makes 4 burgers) 

• 1 lb. ground turkey (or chicken) - okay to use ground beef.
  
• 5 ounces of chorizo - 1/2 package. Give chorizo a quick saute for a few minutes.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Burger Fixings
Buns, salsa, avocado, lettuce, tomato and your favorite cheese. Make it your own with any favorite toppings.

Directions
 First remove chorizo from package and saute it in a frying pan for 3-5 minutes to pre-cook it. Let it cool down for a couple of minutes.

Coat grill with non-stick spray or oil and heat. Thoroughly mix ground turkey and chorizo. Form into burger patties, season and cook on grill until well-done (cut into burger to check that middle is not raw and soft). 

I used a gas grill and it took about 15 minutes total. Watch for fire flare-ups as chorizo has a high fat content. 

Melt your favorite cheese on patty then dress the burger with salsa and any of your favorite toppings. The Chef's Mexi-burger tastes just as good frying-pan sauteed indoors.

Ingmar Bergman Swedish Meatballs

You might not think the 99 Cent Chef a fan of Swedish existentialist filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. After all, this Cinematic Chef's short food films are light, comedic fare; but don't be fooled, even comedian auteur Woody Allen ventures over to the bleak side.

While Ingmar Bergman is best known for brooding scenes of Stringbergian domestic angst, he would often include comedic elements and a touch of the frisky sex romp.

Igmar Bergman (dark beret) and Sven Nykvist (cinematographer)

This is what first attracted me, humor mixed with fatalism, when I haunted art house movie theaters upon my arrival here in the film capital just before I turned 21 years old (anyone remember The Fox Venice Theater on Lincoln Boulevard?)

Now on to a Swedish culinary classic, done in the 99 Cent Chef manner.

On my frequent trips to Swedish discount furniture store Ikea, when the window shopping and furniture gazing induces a Scandinavian-like snow blindness, this Cheap$kate Furniture-Assembling Chef always makes his way to their cafeteria to rejuvenate over a plate of Swedish Meatballs with lingonberries and boiled potatoes in a rich Cream Gravy.

To keep the price down I buy ground poultry or breakfast pork sausage, instead of more expensive ground beef.

This traditional Swedish dish appears bland but is quite flavorful with sauteed onion and nutmeg-spiced meatballs. To the poultry meatballs add some beef bouillon for extra flavor. And substitute a side of whole cranberry sauce for hard-to-find lingonberries.

In these final chilly nights of the season, this tasty fare will lift your spirits. There you have it, another cinema-inspired dish: Ingmar Bergman Swedish Meatballs.

Ingredients (serves about 4)

• 5 slices of white bread or sourdough
• 1/4 cup of milk or cream - added to bread.
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1lb. ground chicken or turkey - okay to use ground beef or pork.
• 2 eggs
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground allspice (optional)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Black Pepper to taste - no salt for me, as bouillon cubes contain plenty.

*Serve with boiled white or red potatoes, and whole cranberry sauce.

99 Cent Chef playing chess with Death

Cream Gravy Ingredients  

• 1 beef or chicken bouillon cube
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 cup of water
• 1 cup of milk or half and half milk
• Pepper to taste

Directions for Cream Gravy
Prepare Cream Gravy by heating flour for a couple of minutes, to take out raw flavor. Slowly whisk in water, milk. 

Finally, add a bouillon cube and mix well. Stir over medium heat about 5-10 minutes until gravy thickens.

Okay to make Cream Gravy as Swedish Meatballs bake.

Directions for Swedish Meatballs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Chop or tear white bread into small pieces, and soak with 1/4 cup of milk in a large bowl.

Saute chopped onion with one bouillon cube in a tbsp. of oil for 5 minutes until soft.

To a bowl of bread and milk, add ground pork and chicken (or turkey,) 2 eggs, sauteed onion, nutmeg, allspice and salt and pepper.

Mix well and form small one to two-inch meatballs and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Ovenbake about 30 - 45 minutes, until done. Okay to check and slice into one of them at the 30-minute mark. Cooking time depends on the size of meatballs.

You can also saute in batches in an oiled frying pan until cooked through and brown.

When Swedish Meatballs are done, serve topped with Cream Gravy, with a side of boiled potatoes (red or white) and whole cranberry sauce.

Load your Netflix DVD of Ingmar Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night" and enjoy the Chef's movie director themed dish.

Check out classic Ingmar Bergman in this trailer for "Smiles of a Summer Night."



And finally, this weekend is an annual Los Angeles literary highlight - The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA. Hopefully this year it will be cooler and cloudy, making hanging-out at the outdoor Culinary Stage bearable. 

This 4/20 Chef is looking forward to seeing a cooking (toking) demo by the "Two Dudes", owner/chefs of Animal and a just published cookbook, "Two Dudes, One Pan", this Sunday at 11am. Also, the Literary Chef's wife will be signing her book, "Sunset Boulevard, Cruising the Heart of Los Angels", at the Ange City Press booth from 2-4pm on Sunday. Best of all it is all free, just pay for parking. 

And here, for your entertainment, is a fun photo story of our book adventures.



See you at the book fest!

Papaya Thai Fried Rice

Papaya is readily available at one of the Chef's favorite local Latin markets. Papayas are quite large, so along with a fresh drink using blended papaya and 99.99 cent carbonated water flavored with lime or lemon, the Chef came up with a Thai stir-fry rice dish to use up the rest of this mildly sweet Central American tropical fruit. Just peel and seed two cups of papaya and add it to sauteed Oriental flavored ground turkey or chicken, cooked white or brown rice, and a scrambled egg. It is a dish more subtly flavored than a typical Thai pineapple fried rice.

Ingredients
1 lb. 99.99 cent ground turkey or chicken- - substitutions include sliced chicken or pork
2 cups of peeled cubed papaya
1/4 cup each ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce
1/2 cup each chopped onion and bell pepper (optional)
4 cups of cooked white or brown rice
1 tbsp. of garlic - fresh or from jar
1 large egg
2 tbsps. of oil 
Directions
Scramble one egg in tsp. of oil and set aside. Stir fry ground turkey, garlic, ketchup, oyster sauce and soy sauce in one tbsp. of oil until turkey is done, 5 to 10 minutes and set aside. Mix rice, veggies and papaya and heat through for 5 minutes. Mix in meat and eggs. Ready to serve.