Italian Meatball Soup Recipe

Further delicate, further juicy and further tasty meatballs, served up in a tacky tomato spaghetti soup that’s all made in a single pot! By cooking them in the identical pot the soup is made in, it provides unbelievable further flavour into the soup.

Right here by well-liked demand! As a result of I’ve given this out to so many readers by e-mail, I believed I’d higher simply share it!

My Basic Italian Meatballs are some of the well-liked recipes right here on RecipeTin Eats. With good motive I feel, in my humble opinion.:-) They’re softer, juicier and have further flavour crammed into them because of a few small however key issues I do otherwise to the standard:

1. Including grated onion to melt the bread and add further flavour into the meatballs, whereas avoiding chunks of raw onion within the meatballs which might occur when you use diced onion; and

2. Utilizing bread, not breadcrumbs, which can be soaked within the grated onion. It actually disintegrates when blended by way of and when the meatballs are cooked, the little bits of bread kind of “puff” which creates little air pockets within the meatballs which makes them the meatballs further delicate inside.

I’ll go away it at that as a result of I went into some element behind my logic within the Basic Italian Meatballs recipe! And right here they’re….don’t you suppose they even look delicate and juicy?? 🙂

These meatballs are destined for use in a soup. The additional flavour within the meatballs is essential to an further flavourful soup. Not a drop of flavour is wasted on this recipe! All these attractive brown bits within the pot from browning the meatballs are blended into the soup, and the meatballs are plonked within the soup to complete cooking so all these juices combine in as nicely.

Oh! Have I discussed that that is all made in a single pot? 🙂 The truth is, cooking the spaghetti within the soup thickens it much more because of the starch. Ooooh, and I particularly love how the spaghetti soaks up all of the tomato soup flavour!

I make the meatballs a tiny bit smaller than the recipe for my Basic Italian Meatballs. I simply really feel that it makes the soup barely simpler to eat. I imply, lengthy strands of spaghetti in a vivid purple tomato sauce with melted cheese on prime is already a problem to eat as it’s with out making the meatballs large dimension.

You understand that that is going to be a multitude to eat, proper? A wonderful, gratifying mess. Tomato splattered in your face, some would possibly even make it into your hair. I strongly suggest sporting black and in case you are feeding youngsters, take into account dinner outside? 😉

PS You possibly can be smart and use macaroni or risoni/orzo, or one other kind of pasta that’s simpler to eat. However the place’s the enjoyable in that??

I know that half the world is heading into summer season, however for us people in Australia, what appeared like an Countless Summer time is formally over as of yesterday when Daylight Saving ended. Autumn is basically right here. The evenings are cooler, the times are noticeably shorter. The truth is, as I hit Publish, it’s pouring with rain exterior.

And since I’m pouting that each weekend might not be spent on the seaside, I’m consoling myself on the thought that winter = consolation meals. And actually, proper at this second, I can’t consider something extra comforting that this Italian Meatball Soup!

Italian Meatball Soup Recipe

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Serves: 5 Prep Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes 30 minutes

Nutrition facts: 565 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

• 1 lightly packed cup of sliced white sandwich bread , torn into small pieces, crusts removed (Note 1)
• 1/2 cup grated onion (brown, white or yellow)
• 14 oz / 400 g ground beef (beef mince)
• 3 oz / 100g ground pork (mince) or more ground beef (Note 2)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley , finely chopped (Note 3)
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (or parmesan), freshly grated
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup onion , finely chopped (white, brown or yellow)
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 cups chicken broth / stock (or water)
• 1 cup water
• 24 oz / 700g passata (pureed tomato) (Note 4)
• 28 oz / 800g canned tomato
• 1 tbsp Italian mixed herbs (Note 5)
• 2 tsp garlic powder (or onion powder)
• 1 – 2 tsp red pepper / chilli flakes (optional)
• 8 oz / 250g spaghetti (dried, not fresh or cooked)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves , torn
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Parmigiano-Reggiano (or parmesan), freshly grated

Instructions

1. Place the bread and onion in a large bowl. Mix to combine so the onion juice soaks the bread.
2. Add all the remaining Meatball ingredients. Use you hands to mix well.
3. Roll a slightly heaped tablespoon of mixture into a ball. Repeat with remaining mixture. Should make around 24. (Note 6) Refrigerate meatballs for 30 minutes (Note 7)
4. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and brown all over (still raw inside) – I do this in 2 batches. Remove meatballs onto a plate and set aside.
5. If the pot is looking dry, add a touch more olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add chicken broth, bring to simmer and scrape the bottom of the pot to mix the brown bits into the liquid.
7. Add remaining Soup ingredients except spaghetti. Bring to simmer, turn heat down to medium and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.
8. Take the lid off and add spaghetti. Use tongs to push it all under the liquid as it starts to soften. Once the spaghetti is submerged, add the meatballs. Cook for around 12 minutes, or until spaghetti is just cooked but still firm (al dente). Remove from stove.
9. If using cheese, sprinkle on the surface of the soup after you take it off the stove, put the lid back on and let the heat melt the cheese (~2 minutes).
10. Ladle soup, spaghetti and meatballs into bowls. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with Parmigiano-Reggiano, if using.

Notes

1. Plain white sandwich bread is best for this, but you can substitute with other breads. Tear them into small pieces with your hands, and do not include the crust. You can use slightly stale bread. If you prefer, you can substitute with 1/2 cup breadcrumbs – preferably panko. But the meatballs won’t be as soft!
2. Pork is slightly fattier than beef so it helps make these extra juicy. I only use 3 1/2 oz / 100 g because pork has less flavour than beef and I don’t want to dilute the flavour. This isn’t hugely critical though and you should feel free to just use 1 lb / 500 g beef mince which is what I do on ordinary nights. 🙂
3. You can substitute with 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley, or a mix of equal amounts of dried oregano, thyme, basil and parsley. You could also use an Italian herb mix if you wanted to.
4. Tomato passata is just pureed tinned tomatoes and it’s great because it’s smoother and thicker than crushed tomatoes. Nowadays it is readily available in supermarkets, usually alongside pasta sauces. If you can’t find it, puree canned tomatoes or use crushed canned tomatoes.
5. You can substitute with a mix of equal amounts of dried oregano, thyme, basil and parsley.
6. Here’s how I roll meatballs – measure out heaped tablepoons of mixture and pop them onto a plate with the flick of your wrist. Repeat with all the mixture. THEN wet your hands slightly and roll them one by one. I find this faster than measuring and rolling each one separately. 🙂 Don’t over roll them! They will become tough!
7. Meatballs firm when refrigerated and it helps ensure they hold together when cooked. This step isn’t required in my Italian Meatballsrecipe which are cooked in a non stick pan. But I don’t have a non stick pot!
8. If you have leftovers, I suggest removing the spaghetti and keeping it separate because otherwise it will become very bloated.
9. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.