Mexican Cocido

Every time our family would go to our favorite local Mexican restaurant, Karen and I always ordered the Cocido.

We love soup.

The bowl was filled with vegetables in a hot, rich beef broth, served with a side of Spanish rice, some chopped cilantro, onions, and a lime wedge.

That's how we have it at home, too.

It's easy to make.

Really!

Mexican Cocido

Ingredients:

3 lbs. beef short ribs or beef shank

4 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

4 carrots

2 onions

2 celery ribs

1 small head cabbage

6 red potatoes

2 zucchini

2 corn on the cob

Season the broth with 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.

salt & pepper to taste

cilantro

jalapeño

limes

onion

Serve with corn tortillas and Spanish rice.

I bought 2 pieces of beef short ribs from the butcher at the local Mexican market, about 3 pounds.

He said that cocido is also made with beef shank.

Trim off some of the visible fat from the short ribs.

Put the meat into a large pot and cover with water by 1 inch and bring to a boil for one minute, then drain.

Clean out the pot, rinse the meat, and again, cover with water and bring to a boil.

That makes it so your broth will be clear.

When the fat renders and comes to the surface, you skim that off, but otherwise, the broth is pretty clear.

Or, you can use a fine sieve or coffee filter to strain the broth.

Add the seasonings--4 cloves garlic, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin, dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.

Salt and pepper, also.

Simmer the meat for about 2 hours until tender.

While the meat is simmering, get the vegetables ready.

Cut them into chunky pieces.

Add all vegetables except the zucchini and cabbage, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

Then add the zucchini.

Cut the cabbage with part of the core attached so it will stay together in a wedge, and place them on top of the other vegetables in the pot.

Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for another 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender.

My family says this tastes like a lighter version of cocido than the one at the restaurant, since I skim off the fat.

Use tongs to put a piece of each ingredient into a soup bowl, then ladle the broth over the top.

Squeeze a bit of lime, sprinkle a few finely chopped sweet onions and chopped cilantro on top of the cocido--that makes it extra delicious.

Serve with warm tortillas and Spanish rice.

¡Buen provencho!

***

Yesterday, I had lunch with the girls.

Gail.

And Susan.

 This is us being adventurous and lunching outside our neighborhood.

I've known Gail for a long time.

She went to kindergarten with my husband.

She married her high school sweetheart and he and my husband have been friends since junior high.

Susan is lots of fun.

I haven't known her as long as Gail, but it feels like I've known her forever.

We come from diverse American backgrounds--Chinese, Mexican and Japanese.

 That makes for interesting conversations.

But mostly we talk about our families and home.

Gail just remodeled her bedroom and went on a cleaning spree.

In an already spic and span house.

Gail is so clean that I once saw her sweep dirt.

The ground.

We were camping--but still!

Gail is Mrs. Clean.

Susan loves to eat.

With her high-energy, she burns calories fast, so she needs to eat a lot.

She does, too.

She always orders what I wish I could eat if I didn't have a super-slow metabolism.

Susan loves jigsaw puzzles.

Susan! Have you already finished all the puzzles you got for Christmas?

When you're done, my mother-in-law needs help with her 2000 piecer!

Susan's always great company, I especially appreciate her company in cyberspace.

I enjoy our time together immensely.

Thank you, Gail and Susan, for your time and love.

No printable recipe for cocido yet.

Albondigas Soup

While we're having 80 degree weather here in Southern California, in other parts of the country it's COLD!

Keith in NYC is going sledding.

My childhood friends & relatives in Iowa, South Dakota & the Pacific Northwest are posting pictures of snow in their yards, and relatives in Kenosha, WI are commenting 'No global warming here!'

Even when the weather is warm, I love soup.

In honor of all that are cold, here's a repost of my Albondigas Soup from Facebook.

Growing up in Southern California exposes one to a lot of delicious Mexican food. Not only are there a lot of really good restaurants, but one learns the best cooking tips from friends and their families. 

Albondigas soup is a family favorite. I remember cooking it when we'd take the kids around the Eastern Sierra--when they were little--and we had a truck & camper. It's so easy to make, even in that tiny kitchen. The four of us would snuggle up on a cold night in that camper, with snow outside, warming ourselves with this soup.

Recently, Karen made it for the ladies at her church, with great results. I decided to make a pot and deliver some to family & friends.

Warning:

This recipe makes a lot. It will fill a 12 quart pot, so you'll have lots to share!

For the meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground turkey

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup Mrs. Cubbison's Dressing

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 eggs

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

My mom always used Mrs. Cubbison's seasoned dressing, that's why the smell and taste of these breadcrumbs signals comfort food to me.

I start the meatball mixture with 1 cup crushed dressing crumbs, but Gary likes the meatballs less meaty, so I might use 2 cups of crumbs. 

I crush the breadcrumbs with a tenderizer mallet, makes less of a mess if you crush them in the bag.

I have some flat leafed parsley growing in my front yard. Whenever I need some, I go out and pick a small bunch. It's so convenient to always have it on hand. There's curly leafed parsley growing here too.

Be on the lookout for any pesky snails.

Chop the parsley and add it to the rest of the ingredients to make the albondigas. 

Or, adondibodie, as a favorite salad-dodger nephew might say.

"WHO put too many vegetables in the a-don-di-bodeeeee???!!!"

I'm easily distracted :)

Back to the recipe.

Mix until well combined.

Using a small ice cream/cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, make the meatballs. Keep a small bowl of water handy to wet your hands and the scooper so the mixture doesn't stick.

Now to make the soup.

Ingredients:

1 large sweet onion

6 carrots

4 stalks celery

1 leek

1 large potato

1 bunch cilantro

2 cans stewed tomatoes

tomato paste chicken broth 

mushrooms

1/2 cup red wine

I like these Mayan sweet onions at Costco.

Begin by cutting the onion in half, cutting off the ends and taking off the outer skin layer.

Then remove the root core.

Cut the onion in both directions, vertically & horizontally, keeping it together.

Then slice across.

Next, the leek.

Leeks have a lot of dirt between the leaves, so you have to cut them and wash them thoroughly.

There's dirt in-between the layers of the green part too. The worst thing is crunching into sand, so be sure to wash them well!

Slice the stalk and dice into small pieces.

If you grew up at the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center like I did, you might be remembering Beans Sogioka about now, and his joke, "Take A Leek from Sogioka Farms!"

Slice up the tops, too. You don't want to be wasteful, or hear my voice saying, 'mottainai'.

Give the garlic a rough chop.

Saute the onions in a little bit of olive oil and get them sizzling and sweating.

Chop the celery.

Peel & chop the carrots.

And the potato.

Add them, along with the mushrooms, into the pot.

Add two cans of stewed tomatoes.

Chop them up a bit the your spoon.

Add a little red wine. About a half-cup or so. 

There was a little bit left in this bottle my dad brought over for Thanksgiving. Homemade wine. I didn't have any of it, but those who did said it was good!

I like to add about a half cup of pearl barley. I like the chewiness of it.

After the veggies have softened a bit, add water and some tomato paste. A small can is plenty for this large pot.

Add water to cover the vegetables, so they're floating in broth, not just sitting.

When the soup boils, it's time to add the meatballs.

Don't worry about the foam just yet. You're going to skim that off later.

As the meatballs cook, the fat in the meat is released. Skim the fat off.

 Skim the foam off too.

The meatballs are done when they float to the top.

Lower the heat and simmer gently 15 to 20 minutes to let the flavors meld.

After the flavors have a chance to come together, taste the broth. Adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper.

Add some chopped cilantro to each bowl or to the whole pot.

The secret to making good albondigas soup is to make it with ingredients you like.

Add more/less tomato, squashes, corn, spices--thyme, rosemary, etc., whatever you have on hand.

Hope you enjoy it!

Thanks to all my Facebook friends that wrote to tell me they tried the soup and how it was a hit with their families. Love you guys!