← Nouns Cooking · Soup Pot

Ingredients

• 250 g Minced beef
• 250 g pork mince or Italian sausage meat
• 30 g dried breadcrumbs
• 40 g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve
• 1 Eggs
• 1 clove Garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp Parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Carrot, finely diced
• 2 celery sticks, finely diced
• 2 l chicken stock
• 150 g small soup pasta (acini di pepe, orzo or ditalini)
• 150 g baby spinach or chopped escarole
• Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Mix both minces, the breadcrumbs, parmesan, egg, garlic and parsley with a little salt and pepper using your hands, without overworking. Roll into small balls about 2 cm across (you should get around 40) and chill while you start the soup.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery for 8 min, until soft.
3. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a steady simmer and drop in the meatballs one by one.
4. Simmer for 8–10 min, until the meatballs float and are cooked through with no pink in the middle.
5. Add the pasta and cook for 7–9 min, until tender, then stir in the spinach for 1 minute until it wilts.
6. Season and serve with extra parmesan grated over each bowl.

Tips

• The name comes from the Italian "minestra maritata", a soup where meat and greens are "married", not from weddings.
• Wet your hands while rolling the meatballs so the mix does not stick.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Once Upon a Chef The Modern Proper