Mini Meatball Minestra

Submitted by SarahBelle9475

"I saw this on 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray and it looked so delicious i looked for it here, but it couldn't be found. So I added it! :)"

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1⁄4 lb pancetta, diced
• 1 medium-large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 heads escarole, chopped
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• 1 (12 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 3 cups water
• 1 lb ground beef, pork and veal, meat loaf mix
• 1 large egg
• 1⁄2 - 1 cup breadcrumbs
• splash milk
• 1⁄2 - 1 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus some to pass at table
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1⁄2 teaspoon allspice
• 1⁄2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cup mini penne
• 1 lemon, zested, for garnish

directions

1. In a heavy bottomed soup pot heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions and 2 cloves of garlic and saute 4 to 5 minutes then add the escarole and wilt. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in beans, add stock and water and bring to boil.
2. While stock comes to a boil, combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, milk, a handful of cheese, fennel, allspice, parsley, salt and pepper. Combine and roll into 1-inch balls, and add to the soup. Cook 2 minutes then add in pasta and cook 6 minutes more.
3. Turn off the heat, garnish with lemon zest and serve with cheese passed at the table.

Reviews

[Karabea]

Yummy! I used kale instead of escarole. I also used ground chicken instead of meatloaf mix. I should say that my meatballs were hardly mini! Next time I would try to make them smaller, they plumped more than I expected when I cooked them. Maybe the size of a marble would be good. I also used orzo instead of mini penne because that is what I had on hand. This was delicious, and I will definitely make it again!

 

[LizP5885]

This was an absolutely delicious recipe. Just outstanding. I will say what I always say with Rachael Ray 30 minute meals....don't expect to get it done in 30 minutes. Just rolling all those tiny meatballs take 15 minutes! It is definitely not a long and hard recipe....just not 30 minutes. Next time I would add an additional can of beans, because we love beans. I cut the oil to 1 Tbl and it ws plenty. I also think it serves 8, not 6. I will make this a lot! DELICIOUS!

 

[Cook4_6]

This was a quick and easy soup, that reminds me a bit of Italian Wedding Soup. I used frozen mini Italian meatballs from the freezer section in the grocery..and made this even simpler! Very good!

 

[mersaydees]

This soup is a meal in itself. Very flavorful. How it made it into 30 Minute Meals is a wonder, though! There's no way to dice pancetta, chop onions, garlic, escarole, grate cheese, etc. in 10 minutes! Prep time is an easy 30 minutes and then it has to cook! This also makes six very hearty servings. At the time I made this there was no instruction on what to do with the remaining clove of finely chopped garlic; I added it to the meatball mixture. Thanks, SarahBelle9475! Made for PAC Spring '09.