← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 700 g Minced beef
• 50 g long-grain rice, rinsed
• 1 Eggs
• 3 tbsp Mint, finely chopped
• ¼ white onion, grated
• 1 clove Garlic, grated
• ½ tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Salt
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 500 g Tomato, quartered
• ½ white onion, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 chipotle in adobo, for gentle heat (optional)
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 2 l chicken or beef stock
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 2 Carrot, diced
• 2 Potato, diced
• 2 Courgette (zucchini), diced
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 2 Lime, cut into wedges

Method

1. Mix all the meatball ingredients with your hands until evenly combined, then roll into walnut-sized balls (about 3 cm). Wet hands stop them sticking. Chill while you make the broth.
2. Blend the tomatoes, chopped onion, garlic and chipotle (if using) until smooth.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, pour in the tomato purée and fry for 5 min, stirring, until it darkens a shade. Add the stock and oregano and bring to the boil.
4. Turn down to a steady simmer and gently drop in the meatballs one by one. Add the carrots and potatoes and simmer for 20 min without stirring too hard, so the meatballs hold together.
5. Add the courgette and simmer for 10 min more, until the vegetables are tender and a meatball cut in half shows cooked rice and no pink.
6. Taste for salt and serve with coriander, lime wedges and warm tortillas.

Tips

• The raw rice cooks inside the meatballs and keeps them light; that is the Mexican trick.
• Swap half the beef for pork mince for juicier meatballs.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Maricruz Avalos Mexican Please Mexican Food Journal