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albondigas y arroz (meatballs and rice)

(1 rating)
Torrey avatar
Recipe by
Torrey Moseley
@Torrey
Dallas, TX

My friend Adrianna was over again last night. She taught me how to make traditional Mexican albondigas (meatballs). We served them up with tomato rice in a luscious tomato sauce. All made from scratch of course!

(1 rating)
yield 4 -6
prep time 40 Min
cook time 40 Min

Ingredients For albondigas y arroz (meatballs and rice)

  • MEATBALLS
  • 1
    pound ground beef
  • 1
    pound ground pork
  • 3
    lg raw eggs
  • 1
    cup bread crumbs
  • 2 to 3
    hardboiled eggs, chopped
  • 1
    cup fresh mint leaves (yerba buena)
  • 3 to 5
    cloves garlic
  • 5
    whole cloves (1/4 tsp ground)
  • 10
    whole peppercorns (1/2 tsp ground)
  • 1/2
    tsp salt
  • good pinch of cumin seeds (1/4 tsp ground)
  • SAUCE
  • 15 or so
    roma tomatoes
  • 4
    cloves garlic
  • 1 to 2 tsp
    cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
  • 10
    whole peppercorns
  • 5
    whole cloves
  • 1 tsp
    salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2
    cup canned chipoltles in adobo (san marcos brand if you can get it)
  • 3
    bay leaves
  • RICE
  • 1 1/2
    cups uncooked rice
  • 2 to 4 Tbsp
    canola oil
  • 4 to 5
    roma tomatoes
  • 2
    cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tsp
    salt
  • water (approx 2 to 2 1/2 cups)

How To Make albondigas y arroz (meatballs and rice)

  • 1
    For meatballs: 1. Grind garlic, mint, cloves, peppercorns, salt and cumin in molcajete to form liquidy paste. If you don't have a molcajete...use a food processor. 2. Place meats in large bowl. Add liquefied herb mixture, raw eggs and bread crumbs. Mix well (come on, use your hands). 3. Grab handful of meat mixture (a little smaller than a baseball). Flatten in hand. 4. Place small amount of chopped hard-boiled egg in center and form ball around chopped egg so that it's in the middle. 5. Slightly brown meatballs in pan with canola oil. Do NOT cook through. They will cook through later when they're in the sauce.
  • 2
    For Sauce: 1. In large pot, boil whole tomatoes until skin breaks. Let cool a little and peel off skins. 2. Save out 4 to 5 tomatoes for rice. 3. Remove seeds from chipoltles. 4. Place remaining tomatoes in blender with garlic, cumin, cloves, pepper, salt and chipoltles. Blend until smooth. 5. Pour sauce in large pot. Add bay leaves. Gently place meatballs in sauce making sure all meatballs are covered. 6. Bring to boil on stove, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
  • 3
    NOTE: May OMIT chipoltles if you want it less spicy.
  • 4
    For Rice: 1. Place rice in skillet with canola oil. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until rice is slightly toasted but not brown. 2. In blender, blend boiled/skinned tomatoes, water, garlic and salt until smooth. 3. Pour over rice in skillet and stir. Bring to boil then cover and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until rice is tender. Do NOT stir during cooking process.
  • 5
    Plate up rice with a few meatballs, pour sauce over meatballs.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!

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