Meatball soup!

Meatball soup!

I have been making this soup for a few years now.  It's a weekly go-to for me during the colder months, for so many reasons.  Very filling, warming, and tasty.  And it's nice to have for lunch, for a couple of days after.  It just gets better if it sits for a day or two in the refrigerator.



Ingredients:

2 medium sized onions.
4 tbsp butter
1 pound of your favourite Italian Sausage.
4  cups chicken broth (I use bone broth.)
1 28 oz tin of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup of a good red wine*
3 TBSP smoked paprika
1 TBSP dried basil
1 TBSP dried oregano
1 TSP dried thyme
1 TBSP granulated garlic, or a fine mince of about 4 fresh cloves
1/2 TSP celery salt.
Your favourite cruciferous vegetable.  I love Broccoli Rabe in this, but kale, regular broccoli, cauliflower, and even chard work well.

Method:

 Chop onions in half, then slice into about 1/4 inch slices.  Roll your sausage into balls, and place them near the pot you will use.  I have discovered over the years that I prefer to just make meatballs from the sausage, and not add any binding agent.  They really don't need it, and the texture just seems to turn out better.  I also like to be sure the tomatoes and broth are ready at this stage.  Onions need babysitting, so the more you get done first, the better.

On high heat, sautee the onions in the butter until barely caramelized.  If using fresh garlic, stir this in, just before adding tomatoes.

Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes and wine, and stir, to deglaze a bit.

Add paprika, basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, (if using granulated,) and celery salt.  Stir.

Add broth, stir, then add meatballs.

Cover, and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Add your vegetables, cover for another 2 minutes, and serve.

I like to chop a large amount of vegetables for this soup, store the rest, and only use what I think I will eat when served.  That way, when there are leftovers, I can add fresh vegetables to the soup, each time.  No grody, overdone veggies, ever!!!

Serves 6.

*The wine adds a richness to it, but can be left out.  I have been leaving it out lately, since I haven't been able to tolerate it.  At any rate, if you do add it, be sure to use something that you'd like to drink.  Nothing ruins a recipe quite like rot-gut.  :)

-H