Tortilla Soup with Chorizo & Turkey Meatballs
We love tortilla soup around here, so I thought I would try spicing up my regular recipe with a few new ingredients like chorizo and turkey meatballs (instead of chicken) and corn. It was hearty and delicious with just the right amount of spice. Perfect for any kind of day and the Buttery Cornbread hit the spot!
The base of ingredients for the soup are onion, carrots, garlic and a poblano pepper. Chop these babies up and get them ready for a little saute.
I like to keep the dirty pans to a minimum, so using the soup pot, brown the chorizo. Don't be afraid of chorizo, its just a spicy pork sausage that is popular in Spanish, Portuguese and Mexican cooking. Sometimes it is smoked or cured, which does not require further cooking, or you can get it "raw", which requires it to be cooked. Here I am using the kind that needs to be cooked. Squeeze it out of the casing into a hot pan, brown it up and remove it with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain any excess fat.
If you have a lot of excess fat from the chorizo, drain it, if there's just a little bit in there, than its ok to leave it. Toss in the carrots and onions and saute for a minute or so.
Add the chopped poblano pepper. I like to use poblano or pasilla peppers because most often they are on the mild side. If you like spice, you could always add a few serrano peppers as well. Saute veggies for a few minutes, just until the onions begin to turn opaque.
Add the garlic and cilantro.
Add in about a tablespoon of South O' the Border Blend, which is a combination of of chili powder, chipotle, cilantro, bell pepper, oregano, cumin and garlic.
About a teaspoon of House Blend. These Spice Spoons are so cool, not to mention cute, I love using them!
Stir in 4 cups chicken stock.
And about 3 cups water, stirring to combine. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour. While the soup is simmering, we can get the meatballs made.
Add the cooked chorizo to a pound of extra lean ground turkey. I'm using extra lean, because of the chorizo being a little fatty. Add 1 tablespoon of South O' the Border Blend and a few tablespoons of chopped cilantro.
Add about 1/2 teaspoon of House Blend. The chorizo is a little salty, so you don't want too much salt.
And 1 egg to help bind everything together. I'm waiting until I have everything in the bowl to mix because I don't want to over work the meat, otherwise it tends to get dense and heavy. So just combine everything once you have it all in the bowl.
Raw meat isn't very appetizing looking, I know.......lets make some meatballs!
Heat pan with oil and using an ice scream scoop, drop spoonfuls into hot pan.
Brown meatballs on all sides and remove from pan. You want to get a good golden crust on as much of the meatball as possible since they will be submerged in the soup, this way it doesn't fall apart. They will finish cooking in the soup.
After soup has been simmering for an hour, add the meatballs back in.
And add a package of frozen corn. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.
Even though we drained the fat from the chorizo in the beginning, there is still going to some residual fat that cooks out of the meatballs. Skim any excess fat off the top of the soup and discard.
At this point we're ready to serve. Always taste your dishes before serving them to make sure they are seasoned properly. In this case, it still needs a little salt.
Yummmmmm! Look at all those veggies and delicious meatballs. Ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded cheese, cilantro and lime wedges.
Look how juicy these meatballs are. And the cornbread.......oh the cornbread!!!
Enjoy!
RECIPE
TORTILLA SOUP WITH CHORIZO AND TURKEY MEATBALLS
| Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 1 Hour 45 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4-6 |
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 poblano or pasilla pepper, chopped
- 1 7 ounce package corn kernels, frozen
- 4 tablespoons cilantro, plus extra for garnish
- 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
- 6 ounces Mexican chorizo
- SplenDishes South O' the Border Blend
- SplenDishes House Blend
- 1 egg
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups water
- salt to taste
- Shredded cheese and lime wedges for garnish
Directions:
In large soup pot, squeeze chorizo from casings and brown in hot pot. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
Remove excess fat from pot. Saute onions, carrots, and poblano pepper for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and 2 tablespoons of cilantro and saute another 2-3 minutes.
Stir in South O' the Border Blend and House Blend. Add chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour.
In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, cooked chorizo, 2 tablespoons of cilantro, South O' the Border Blend, House Blend and egg. Stir just to combine.
Heat saute pan, add a little vegetable oil, using ice cream scoop, drop spoonfuls into hot pan.
Brown meatballs, in batches, forming a dark golden crust around the meat. Remove from pan and set aside.
After an hour of simmering, add the meatballs and frozen corn. Continue simmering for another 30 minutes.
Skim excess fat from top of pot and discard.
Taste soup and add additional salt if needed.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls, top with shredded cheese, cilantro and lime wedges.
Serve with Buttered Cornbread.
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