Meatball Soup with Kale
Meatball Soup is a comforting combination of broth and tiny, spoonful size, meatballs combined with kale and your favorite tiny pasta.
Servings: 0
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs soaked in milk Recommend thicker breadcrumbs from a rustic loaf or panko-style Italian seasoned, start with 1 cup of milk and mix, add more if needed.
- 1 lb ground beef, veal and pork, mixed see notes
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp fine sea salt, more as needed
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 egg
- 16 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 bunch of kale, center stems discarded, coarsely chopped substitute with spinach or escarole, or omit entirely
- 1 lb small pasta of choice recommended ditalini or acini de pepe
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the breadcrumbs and enough milk to thoroughly soak the breadcrumbs, set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the meat, parmesan, garlic, parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper, and mix gently with hands to combine. Squeeze out the excess milk from breadcrumbs, and add it to the meat mixture. Add the egg to the mixture and continue to mix by hands to combine all of the ingredients together.
- Add the broth and wine to large 8-quart (8-liter) stockpot, season to taste with salt and pepper. When it comes to a boil, take small portions of the meat and roll into bite-sized, spoon-able, balls (about the size of a quarter) and drop them into the hot broth one at a time.
- Add the kale and stir to gently to combine, taking care not to stir vigorously breaking up the meatballs. Reduce to a gentle simmer (periodically skimming any foam that rises to the top) and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the flavors have had a chance to come together, about an hour. When done, slowly stir in a tablespoon or two of parmesan cheese into the broth, stir well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Soup can remain on the lowest heat setting for a few hours.
- While the soup is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions. Drain and very briefly rinse the pasta to remove some of the starch. Drizzle with olive oil and stir gently to prevent sticking, set aside.
- To serve, spoon the desired amount of pasta into individual serving bowls and ladle the hot soup on top. garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serve hot.*
Notes
If your butcher has meatloaf mix it likely consists of the same meats, that's perfect to use. If buying the meats separately buy 1/2 lb beef, 1/4 lb veal and 1/4 lb pork.
* Note that the pasta is cooked separately to provide you with control over the texture and quality of the soup. If the soup produces any leftovers, pasta that has been cooked and left to sit in the soup will swell and become undesirably soggy, absorbing too much of the broth. However, if serving company at the table, it is recommended to serve the pasta, meatballs and broth together in a soup taurine, noting the pasta will eventually swell if there are any leftovers.