Italian-Inspired Meatball Soup

I took a basic Italian Wedding Soup recipe, and changed it around just a bit, and made it more user-friendly to my kitchen and pantry.  The meatballs are the stars of the show (Wonderful!), and I usually make this with homemade stock, however, I’m not sure that it is any more healthy than the store-bought canned variety which probably has less fat.  Ah, well.  Oh, those meatballs are really good, you’ll like them!

Ingredients:

6 C chicken stock

1/2 C onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 t. olive oil

1 C frozen spinach (1 1/2 C fresh)

1/2-3/4 C orzo pasta

salt and pepper to season (to taste)

For meatballs:

1/2 lb. ground beef (not too lean, I used 80/20)

1 egg

1/2 C fresh bread crumbs

1 ½ T roasted red pepper, minced

2 T parmesan, finely grated

1/4 t ground black pepper

pinch salt

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees                                                        
• In a bowl mix ground beef, egg, parmesan, bread crumbs, red pepper, salt and pepper with your hand until combined
• Roll into balls that are small and bite sized, about ¾ of an inch in diameter
• Place on baking sheet lined with foil and bake for 12-15 minutes

• Check for doneness, sacrifice one to the taste buds!

• In a stock pot, bring olive oil to medium low heat         
• Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender
• Add chicken stock and frozen spinach
• Bring to a boil, add orzo and cook, stirring, for 9 minutes
• Add meatballs, boil for 2 minutes
• Remove from heat and let sit for 20-30 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste
• If you are starving, eat now, otherwise continue cooling and serve the next day to allow the flavors to really meet and greet.

Makes 3-4 hearty portions (I always have 2 bowls!)

Steamy hot in the bowl!

Notes you should know:

*Don’t let the meatballs cool too much on the pan, or they will stick to it and tear when you try to remove them.  They do not need to be made of a lighter fat grade because a good deal of it bakes out.

**If you prefer a thicker soup (as I often do) lean towards the 3/4 C end of orzo, if you prefer to have more broth than filling, or even a more equal amount, go with the 1/2 C of orzo.

***If using fresh spinach, add it when you add the meatballs, and cook until limp.