Mexican Meatballs in Toasted Garlic–Ancho Chile Broth

Name: Mexican Meatballs in Toasted Garlic–Ancho Chile Broth
Yield: serves 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1 pound Mexican Meatball Sausage (page 27), formed into walnut-size balls; 2 large dried red chiles, preferably ancho; 7 cups water; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more as needed; 10 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped; 12 baguette slices, 1/2 inch thick; 1 cup canned tomato sauce; 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons heavy cream, whipped until thick

January 24, 2012

In many Mexican marketplaces and town plazas, the aroma of garlic soup wafts from nearby restaurants, beckoning as you shop, promenade, or just wander and gawk. It’s an ancient soup, dating from the time the Moors introduced a brothy concoction to the Iberian Peninsula, which the locals thickened with pulverized almonds (Chicken and Almond Meatballs in White Gazpacho, page 115). In the New World, the soup was re-created to include tomatoes and dried chiles. That rendition came to be embraced by lovers of Latin fare from the coast of Spain to the zocalos of Mexican towns to the American cities of the Pacific coast. It is an ardently delicious, deep red, beautiful soup that brings with it a blessing of health to the diners, and is blessedly easy to make.

Recipe notes

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