Chicken Meatball Soup

So, another hurricane in New York. Wow, should I get used to this? I hope not. When I see the news with all those devastating images in some areas, I realize how lucky we are. Nothing major happened in my neighborhood besides a fallen tree in my front sidewalk. We still have electricity, water and we're stacked up on food. I hope everybody affected by this storm recuperates quickly and hopefully everything goes back to normal pretty soon.

Last week I made this chicken meatball soup that I planned to post but I simply didn't have the time. It was a crazy week with work and a beautiful surprise, my aunt and cousins came to visit us from New Orleans. I had not seen them in 11 years. I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to see them and spend time with them. By the way, I made for them a flour-less chocolate cake which they love and I'll be posting those photos next week! 

Going back to the soup, it is a chicken soup you will want to keep in your recipe repertoire, it was really good and packed with flavor. The crispy corn tortilla on top is a nice addition and gives it a nice texture. I will possibly make this soup again this week. To all my fellow New Yorkers and everybody on the East Coast, be strong like we always are and stay safe out there.

Ingredients:

For the meatballs:

1.5 lb chicken breast 

2 shallots

3 garlic cloves

1/3 cup bread crumbs,

soaked in milk

Salt and pepper to taste

For the chicken broth

3 garlic cloves finely chopped 

2 cups of leeks, sliced

1 large carrot,  peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 ears of corns, cut in 3 parts 

4 cups of chicken broth

2 cups of water

Salt and pepper to taste

To serve:

Scallions, chopped

2 corn tortillas, thinly sliced 

and fry in vegetable oil until crispy.  

Cut the chicken in small cubes and put it on a food processor with the rest of 

the ingredients. Process until chicken is ground and everything is well combined. 

Form the meatballs, place them on a baking sheet, cover them and refrigerate them for 20 minutes. In a dutch oven, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot and heat it until real hot, brown the chicken meatballs (just brown them don't cook them all the way through) once browned, remove them to a plate until the broth is ready. In the same pot (and oil) add the leeks, garlic, carrots and celery. Cook until leeks softened about 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, water, salt and pepper, simmer for 10 minutes then add the meatballs and the corn and boil for 20 minutes more. Serve and topped with scallions and the crispy tortilla.