Vegetable and Meatball Soup

, from Issue #61. September, 2015
Photography by Manja Wachsmuth.
Vegetable and Meatball Soup

This is most definitely a hearty meal in a bowl.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

500 grams good quality sausages
1 cup small raw pasta shapes, cooked (use gluten-free or regular pasta)
3 cups packed, ripped winter greens, leaves removed from stems (use cavolo nero, kale, silverbeet or spinach)
Parmesan for grating
Herb salsa, recipe below

Soup base
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
½ teaspoon caraway seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 x 400 gram tin crushed tomatoes
5 cups chicken stock
sea salt and ground pepper


Herb Salsa
1 cup tightly packed herbs (use any combination of parsley, mint and basil)
grated zest 1 lemon
1 tablespoon capers
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and ground pepper

METHOD

Base: Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion, carrot, garlic, rosemary and caraway seeds. Season then cover and cook until tender, adding a splash of water if the pan is too dry.  

Stir in the spices and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. 

Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the greens and simmer until tender. Add the cooked pasta and heat through. 

To serve: Remove the sausages from their skins and roll into marble-sized meatballs.

Heat a little olive oil in a sauté pan and cook the meatballs until golden and fully cooked. Transfer to a bowl and toss with a spoonful of the Herb Salsa. 

To serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the meatballs, extra salsa and shaved Parmesan.

Cook’s Tip: I used 250 grams each raw chorizo, and pork and fennel sausages and combined the meat before rolling into balls


Salsa: Put the herbs, lemon zest, capers and garlic on a chopping board and chop together. Place in a bowl and stir in the oil, salt and pepper.