Sopa de Albóndigas (Colombian-Style Meatball Soup)

Colombian-style meatballs are simple to make with the food processor and cook directly in a hot, seasoned broth. They're flavored with a mixture of onion and tomato known as hogao, along with capers. Crisp fried potatoes add texture to the finished soup.

Nicaraguan Arroz con Pollo

This deeply savory version of chicken and rice gets studded with smoked sausage, ham, olives, capers, carrots, and peas.

Arroz Aguado (Nicaraguan Chicken and Rice Stew)

Arroz con pollo finds its way into nearly every Central and South American country in some form or another. The Nicaraguan version is more soupy and stew-like than the fluffier versions you may be used to, but no less delicious.

Homemade Chickarina Soup

Make this awesome canned soup at home—even down to the bouncy meatballs.

Salpicón (Nicaraguan Minced Meat)

A traditional Nicaraguan dish made of lean simmered beef finely chopped with onions and bell peppers, optionally sautéed in butter, and finished with a squeeze of lime.

Masa Ball Soup (Corn Dumplings in Chicken Soup)

A lot of people will tell you that punning is one of the lowest forms of humor. No matter—this soup, born of a silly pun, is tasty whether you like that kind of wordplay or not. Based on a classic matzo-ball soup recipe, this one uses masa harina for tamales in place of matzo meal for light and moist poached dumplings that have more than a little in common with tamales themselves. We serve them in chicken broth spiked with Mexican flavors, like jalapeño, lime juice, and cilantro.

Arroz Caldoso de Pollo (Soupy Rice with Chicken)

Arroz Caldoso is a Spanish dish featuring soupy brothy rice. Chicken thighs are braised in the flavorful liquid until they practically fall apart.

Sopa de Lima (Yucatán-Style Lime Soup)

My wife, Adri, and I just got back from a week spent eating our way around Mérida and the rest of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. Sopa de lima, the Mayan poultry and lime soup that's popular up and down the Yucatán, is one of the simplest and most crowd-pleasingly delicious dishes we had.

Ajiaco (Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup)

All potatoes originated in the Andes, and Colombia has quite a selection of them, the best being the small, yellow, creamy, buttery papas Criollas. They're eaten deep fried, salt roasted, boiled, or—my wife's favorite method—cooked into ajiaco, a classic chicken and potato soup from the mountains around Bogotá.

Italian Meatball Soup

Extra soft, extra juicy and extra tasty meatballs, served up in a cheesy tomato spaghetti soup that's all made in one pot! By cooking them in the same pot the soup is made in, it