ALBONDIGAS SOUP

My sister lives in Brussels and this is one of her favourite meals for lunch and she kindly passed her recipe on to me. The combination of beef and chorizo works so well and gives the whole meal a bit of a zing which I love. ( I am not too fond of those extreme hot sort of dishes which most South Africans love so much). Having received one of those amazing Smoking Shed hampers last Sunday at the Food Bloggers Indaba, I also added a spoon of smoked bell pepper to the soup part of the dish.. and it made it WOW ..:)J

MEATBALLS 1/2 lb lean ground beef 1/2 lb chorizo sausage, casing removed  1 egg, beaten 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 carrot, grated 1/2 cup cooked rice 1/2 cup  coriander, chopped 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon ground cumin

ALBONDIGAS SOUP 6 cups chicken stock  1/2 cup onion, chopped 3 stalks celery, cut in chunks 1 can diced tomatoes 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon oregano 1/2 cup coriander 1 teaspoon smoked bell pepper (Smoking Shed’s) 1 large zucchini, sliced salt pepper

Make the meatballs first: Combine everything and mix thoroughly.
Form meatballs and roll between your palms (Otherwise, meatballs will fall apart in the soup).
You should make around 20 to 24 meatballs, set aside.

Combine chicken stock, onion, celery, tomatoes and their liquid, cumin, oregano, smoked bell pepper and cilantro leaves in a large pot.
Bring to broil, and reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Drop meatballs in the soup (Make sure the soup is slightly boiling, the meatballs need to be cooked quickly).
Return to simmer and cook another 10 minutes.
Add zucchini and cook 10 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste.10