De facto Soup
Ingredients
- 2 litres of chicken stock
- 3 carrots
- 1 zucchini
- 3 spring onions
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- 3 cups of cooked pasta
- 1 cup of chopped cooked chicken
- Olive Oil
- a pinch each of oregano, thyme, sage, salt, pepper and a few bay leaves.
- Meatballs - 500g of beef mince, 3 slices of bread, salt and pepper
That looks like a lot of ingredients but it's super easy, I promise. Feel free to use stock powder, there are so many other flavours in the soup it wont make that much of a difference. If you have leftover pasta and chicken in the freezer, this will make it even easier, and if you'd rather use an Italian herb mix than the individual ones, go right ahead. There is not judgement here!
Method
- Chop the large onion, saute in a glug of olive oil in a large pot.
- While that is turning transparent (but not browning) chop the carrots, zucchini, garlic and spring onions reasonably finely, and then add to the onions. Stir over medium heat until soft.
- Add the tin of chopped tomatoes, herbs and seasonings, as well as the chicken stock. Return to the boil then simmer to marry the flavours (do you see what I did there?)
- While this is happening, make the meatballs. Use a food processor to mix the meatball ingredients. If you use your hands, replace the slices of bread with fresh breadcrumbs. I don't use an egg when I make meatballs because one of my children has an egg intolerance, leaving the egg out doesn't seem to make a difference. So! Roll the mixture into small (smaller than a walnut, bigger than a marble) balls, and quickly pan fry them in a non stick fry pan until cooked. Easy!
- When you are ready to serve, place some pasta into each individual bowl, top with a few meatballs, and then ladle over some soup.
I always cook pasta separately for things like noodle soup or minestrone, then add at the last minute. I do this because I find that although the pasta soaks up the flavours really well in the soup, it also tends to get a bit sludgy, which I hate. Also, combining everything at the last minute is great if you have, like me, a family of disparate eaters. One child had meatballs and pasta, with no soup; one child had the lot, but then also wanted a separate bowl of soup only. I didn't want any pasta, but I did add some chili sauce and chopped parsley. The rules aren't written in stone, so do what you like and make it your own!
Enjoy
xx