Sopa de Albóndigas (Meatball Soup)

With my first-ever soup swap coming up this Wednesday, I had to find the perfect soup recipe. I finally settled on a meatball soup recipe since I only had to triple it and I would have had to quadruple the apple chestnut bisque. (There's another one for the wish list, though.)

It took a bit of effort to triple this recipe, simply because I felt like my husband and I were working in a soup kitchen. However, the soup was done in little more than an hour with fantastic results. It's a bit spicy, but it also has unique flavors due to some of the Mexican spices.

Sopa de Albóndigas (Meatball Soup)
2 tsp. coriander seeds
1 ½ tsp. cumin seeds
4 whole cloves
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, broken
½ cup uncooked long-grain white rice
2 Tbsp. grated fresh onion
½ tsp. salt
1 lb. ground round
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 garlic clove, minced
Cooking spray
3 cups chopped green cabbage
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup carrot
½ cup chopped celery
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 ½ Tbsp. drained, chopped chipotle chili in adobo sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
2 (14-oz.) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-oz.) can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 ½ cups cubed peeled baking potato

Cook coriander and cumin seeds in large Dutch oven over medium heat 1 minute or until toasted and fragrant. Place toasted spices, cloves and cinnamon in a spice or coffee grinder, and process until finely ground.

Combine 2 tsp. cinnamon mixture, rice, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Set remaining cinnamon mixture aside. Shape beef mixture into 24 1-inch meatballs.

Heat pan over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Add cabbage, chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add remaining cinnamon mixture, chili powder, and chipotle. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in ¼ tsp. salt, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer. Add meatballs. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Add potato, and cook uncovered over medium heat 20 minutes or until potato is tender. Yield six servings.