Meatball Minestrone Soup

Meatball Ingredients

• 1 lb. sweet sausage
• 1 egg
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Soup Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized carrot, sliced or chopped
• 1 medium-sized Spanish onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes
• 2 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1/2 cup orzo, uncooked
• 1 cup baby kale
• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 1/2 cups (1 can) white beans
• Olive oil for cooking
• 1-2 tsp sugar** (optional, see below)

Method for Cooking Meatballs

1. Put sausage into a food processor and pulse a few times to chop it up.
2. Add egg, bread crumbs, and parsley.
3. Pulse until everything is mixed.
4. Form into small balls. (It should yield about 35 meatballs.)
5. Add a little olive oil to heavy-bottomed soup pot and brown meatballs.

Method for Cooking Soup

1. Once meatballs are browned, take them out of the soup pot, and put them on a plate. (They’ll finish cooking in the soup.)
2. Add a little more olive oil to the pot, and cook carrots, onion, and garlic for about 5-7 minutes, until they begin to soften.
3. Add tomatoes, thyme, basil, and oregano, and cook for 15 minutes, using a spatula to stir and break up tomatoes.
4. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.
5. Add half the meatballs and the orzo. Freeze the rest of the meatballs for next time.
6. Cook for 10-11 minutes, until orzo is ready.
7. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add baby kale, baby spinach, and white beans.

**If the tomatoes leave the soup tasting too acidic, add 1-2 tsp of sugar to balance it out.

See how this recipe is made by watching the video below:

Приятного аппетита! (Priyatnova appetita! Russian for ‘Bon Appetit!’)