👨‍🍳 Instrucțiuni

1. 1

   For the soup broth: In a large pot, combine chicken pieces, quartered onion, quartered green bell pepper, smashed garlic, sour orange halves, culantro, and mint. Add water, salt, and black peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through.

   ⏱️ 1 hour
2. 2

   Remove chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Strain the broth, discarding solids. Reserve about 1.5 cups of broth for the meatballs.

   💡 Sfaturi Profesioniste: Skim off any excess fat from the broth if desired.
3. 3

   For the meatballs: While the chicken cools, in a food processor, pulse the finely chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic until a fine paste forms.

   💡 Sfaturi Profesioniste: Alternatively, finely mince these ingredients by hand.
4. 4

   In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion-pepper-garlic paste and achiote. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5-7 minutes.

   ⏱️ 7 minutes
5. 5

   Shred the cooked chicken. In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, the cooked achiote mixture, the reserved 1.5 cups of broth, and the corn masa mix. Add chopped culantro and mint. Mix until well combined and a dough forms. It should be sticky but hold its shape.

   💡 Sfaturi Profesioniste: Adjust masa or broth slightly if the mixture is too wet or too dry.
6. 6

   Using lightly oiled hands, shape the mixture into 1.5-inch meatballs. You should have about 24-30 meatballs.

7. 7

   Bring the strained chicken broth back to a simmer in the large pot. Gently drop the meatballs into the simmering broth.

   💡 Sfaturi Profesioniste: Do not overcrowd the pot; cook in batches if necessary.
8. 8

   Simmer the soup for 20-25 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and float to the surface. Adjust salt to taste.

   ⏱️ 25 minutes
9. 9

   Serve hot, garnished with fresh cilantro if desired.

   💡 Sfaturi Profesioniste: This soup is often served with white rice.