Italian Meatball Soup

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (Ree Drummond)

{return to blog}

Meatballs:

3/4 pound ground beef

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

1 whole egg

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground Oregano

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Soup:

3 tablespoons olive oil

7 cups low sodium beef stock

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3/4 cup onions, chopped

3/4 cup carrots, chopped

3/4 cup celery chopped

1 cup Russet potato, chopped (do not peel)

1/2 pound cabbage chopped

freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

bouquet garni:

4 tablespoons minced parsley

2 whole bay leaves (I used fresh)

1 teaspoon peppercorns

To make the meatballs, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well, but do not over mix (I used my hands). Using a tablespoon to make them all the same size, shape into small balls, you should get about 30. Place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and chill for about 30 minutes for all the flavors to blend. 

Gather the ingredients for your bouquet garni and tie into a bit of cheesecloth secured with kitchen twine. 

Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a heavy stock pot, add half of the chilled meatballs, and brown briefly, turning them gently (you do not want them to cook through, about 2 minutes per batch) remove from pot and repeat with remaining meatballs, remove from pan.

Add a little stock and scrape up all the yummy bits in the pot, then add the remaining stock, water, tomato paste, stirring to combine. Add the bouquet garni and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the carrots, onion, celery and potatoes. Simmer about 15 more minutes. Remove the bouquet garni.

Add the cabbage and meatballs, bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Do not over cook or the meatballs will become dry.

Serve will freshly grated Parmesan cheese and homemade dill bread.

ENJOY!
 {return to blog}