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the refrigerator.
    To prepare the chiles, stem them and shake out the seeds, leaving the pods more or less whole. In a small saucepan, combine the chile pods and 2 cups of the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer until plumped up and soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool until the chiles can be handled. Lift out the pods and reserve the water. Slit open each chile, scrape the pulp off the skin, and discard the skin. Add the pulp to the reserved water and set aside.
    To make the soup, heat the ¼ cup oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until beginning to turn golden, about 1 minute. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a large pot. Working in batches to avoid crowding, toast the bread slices in the same sauté pan, turning and adding more oil as necessary to keep them from being dry toasted, until lightly golden on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes for each batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. When all the bread is toasted, set the slices aside.
    Again working in batches to avoid crowding, brown the meatballs in the same pan over medium-high heat, adding oil as needed, until golden all around, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the pot with the garlic as you go. Add the tomato sauce, the remaining 5 cups water, the salt, and the reserved cooking water with the chile pulp to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to maintain a brisk simmer, partially cover the pot, and cook until the garlic is soft and the meatballs are tender, about 20 minutes.
    To serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls. Garnish each bowl with 2 or 3 toasted bread slices and a dollop of the cream.

Mexican Meatballs Simmered in Tomatillo Sauce with Black Olives
    Tomatillos are a member of the nightshade family, which includes New World tomatoes and potatoes and such Old World relatives as eggplants. Although those wide-ranging kin have become familiar around the globe, tomatillos remain something of a country cousin, not much appreciated or grown outside Mexico and its neighbors to the south in Central and South America and to the north in California and the American Southwest. Tomatillos are an everyday must in Mexican cooking and dining, however, especially for one of Mexico’s great table sauces,
salsa verde
. Here the sauce, usually used as a dip for tortilla chips, becomes the medium for simmering meatballs. Make this recipe in summer, when tomatillos are in season. Canned versions are available, but they should be reserved for thickening
chile verde
and the like, much as okra is used in southern cooking.
    SERVES 4
    Salsa
    10 ounces tomatillos, husks removed
    ¼ small white or yellow onion, coarsely chopped
    1½ cups water
    2 jalapeño chiles, coarsely cut up
    2 cups fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
    Kosher salt
    2 tablespoons butter or ghee
    1 pound Mexican Meatball Sausage , formed into walnut-size balls
    16 Kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
    About 16 fresh cilantro sprigs
    ½ teaspoon cider vinegar or fresh lime juice
    Pinch of kosher salt
    To make the salsa, combine the tomatillos, onion, and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand until the tomatillos are soft enough to pierce easily but have not collapsed, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, let cool slightly, then transfer the tomatillos, onion, and ½ cup of the cooking water to a food processor. Add the chiles, cilantro, and ½ teaspoon salt and process until almost smooth. Taste and adjust the salt. Use right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
    Place a heavy sauté pan large enough to hold the meatballs without crowding over medium-high heat and melt the butter. Add the meatballs and sauté until browned all around, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the salsa and olives, decrease the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook until the meatballs are tender and the sauce is thickened, 10 to 12 minutes.
    To