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Find more waste-busting soups in Vanessa Seder’s From Top to Bottom: Waste-Not Warming Soups.
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RECIPE: All the Leaves, Peels, and Stems Chicken Albondigas Soup
- Yield: Serves 4–6 1x
Description
As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, albondigas — a flavorful Mexican meatball soup — was a favorite of mine. This recipe makes use of the carrot peels and tops, celery leaves, and cilantro stems. Once you’ve experienced the flavor and moisture they give to the meatballs and broth, you’ll agree that to omit them would be a “fault” (L.A. pun intended).
Ingredients
Units
Scale
The soup
- 3 Tbsps olive oil
- 2 cups diced yellow onion (~1 large onion)
- 3 peeled garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup uncooked short-grain rice
- 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes with juices (1 14.5-oz can or jar)
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery stalks (~2 stalks, save the celery leaves)
- 1 cup thinly sliced peeled carrots (save the peels and tops)
- 4 fresh cilantro sprigs
- 2 tsps fine sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh cilantro leaves and sprigs, for serving (optional)
- Sliced limes, for serving (optional)
The meatballs
- 1 lb pasture-raised ground chicken
- 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot tops (from above)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped carrot peels (from above)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped celery leaves (from above)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems
- 2 finely chopped peeled garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime zest
- 1 large free-range, organic egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsps fresh lime juice
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, warm the olive oil over medium heat, about 1 minute. Add the onions, and cook until they have softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the rice and cook until the rice just becomes translucent, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and broth, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, cilantro sprigs, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer, letting the flavors develop and the rice to fully cook, about 8 more minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the meatballs. Have a small bowl of cold water and a standard-sized baking sheet lined with parchment paper ready.
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, carrot tops, carrot peels, celery leaves, cilantro, garlic, lime zest, egg, salt, and pepper. Use a large spoon or clean hands to mix until well combined. With damp hands, roll the chicken mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet. You should get about 22 meatballs total.
- Return the soup to medium heat and gently add the meatballs to the pot until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in the lime juice and season to taste with more salt and pepper if desired.
- Divide the soup between bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime, if desired.
