Spinach Meatball Market Minestrone (aka “ski” soup)

This recipe comes from Steve McCarthy, Prather Ranch. It was submitted as part of CUESA's 2010 Soup Festival.

 

Serves 8

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INGREDIENTS:

For the meatballs:
2 pounds Prather Ranch ground beef
1 ¼ cup fresh dried breadcrumbs
1 egg
10 ounces fresh or frozen spinach, chopped, thawed and drained
¾ teaspoon salt (smoked chili salt is nice)
½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano (more if fresh)
Lard, bacon fat, olive oil or other non-hydrogenated oil of your choice.

For the soup:
1 whole onion, chopped
Cooking oil
3 or 4 carrots, halved and sliced
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small can whole tomatoes, crushed (or use fresh romas if in season)
4 cans low sodium beef broth (or homemade from Prather bones)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Elbow macaroni pasta
Grated parmesan

PREPARATION:

For the meatballs:
Preheat over to 350. Mix all ingredients until evenly distributed. Form into small balls and brown in oven for 15 minutes. (You can also brown them in the pan used to make soup.) Drain some of the fat if you feel necessary. (We don’t drain any!)

For the soup:
In a heavy-bottomed pot, lightly cook onion with a little bit of oil. Add the carrots, celery and tomatoes and cook until they are almost tender. Then, add cooked meatballs and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. It is best if left to sit overnight for flavors to blend. To serve, spoon soup over cooked elbow or other small macaroni (or serve with crusty bread instead). Serve with a high-quality grated Parmesan.