Celebrate Hispanic heritage month with albondigas

>>> and we are celebrating la vida latina in honor of spanish heritage monday and today we're making meatballs and kristi vega is here. good to have you here.

>> thank you.

>> these are the spanish meatballs.

>> they are, a spanish meatball, very traditional mexican cooking and kind of like the soul food , the comfort food , you know, the mexican cuisine . definitely what you have when you're feeling ill or a cold day . want to this the meatball soup.

>> instead of the chicken noodle soup .

>> this is a family recipe.

>> we've used it for 50 years at caka vega and my parents had a restaurant for 18 years before that.

>> truly authentic then.

>> let's get start with the soup base then.

>> we have about six cups of water, and then to this we're going to add our flavoring agent.

>> okay. we, have you know, three-quarter cups of tomato salsa.

>> just from a jar.

>> we use our classic house salsa. definitely go home and it adds a nice kind color to the soup.

>> right.

>> and then we'll add about a teaspoon and a half of chicken base, and chicken base is a little different than chicken bouillon because it's cream year, it's not quite as salty, and i think it has a better flavor.

>> okay.

>> sold right in the grocery store next to the bouillon.

>> okay. easy to find them.

>> easiy to find.

>> and then some of our spices, cumin, garlic powder and oregano.

>> perfect.

>> and we'll add those in there.

>> all pretty easy for the most part.

>> do you add more salt?

>> yes.

>> we're going to add about a tablespoon of salt.

>> i love pepper.

>> and half a tablespoon of white pepper . white pepper is a little less peppery than black pepper , stays in the background of dishes, won't overwhelm it.

>> did not know that.

>> move on over to making our meat balls, a minute left here.

>> we just have regular ground beef, use lean. add an egg.

>> and this is interesting.

>> the rice.

>> what does the rice do in.

>> the rice kind of binds the meat ball and keeps it nice and moist.

>> an onion.

>> white onion , green onion , garlic.

>> more garlic powder .

>> and black pepper this time.

>> so we'll go ahead and mix it up.

>> i think it's better to do it with our hands.

>> get your hands dirty and get the towels to wipe them down.

>> want to help me mix the meatball.

>> and then you actually have the little scooper that you can then. we'll pretend it's really mixed well, and you'll put it right into the soup mix.

>> yes.

>> and just let it cook in there.

>> so you just go ahead and drop it in there, a whole batch.

>> slide the meatballs in. bring it to a boil and let it cook for five minutes.

>> this is your soup.

>> if you want to go ahead and crumple it inside the suit.

>> i'm eating, so that's okay.

>> great.

>> i think it's nice to eat it with a green salad . makes a nice meal. kids love it. it 's wonderful .

>> thanks so much. next time my kids are sick, that's what they are having.