About
Southern Meatball Soup tastes like coming home! You know, after you haven't seen your momma in a while, there's nothing like kicking off your shoes, swaying on the porch swing, and catching up on all the things you missed... that's what we mean. And that's what this veggie-and-pasta filled broth tastes like, especially when you get to one of the juicy, Italian-seasoned meatballs floating in it. Momma and a bowl of Southern Meatball Soup, are all you truly ever need to make everything feel right again!
Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup jarred pesto sauce
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 1 (5-ounce) package baby kale
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2 -Line a baking dish with parchment paper.
Step 3 -In a medium bowl, add the ground sirloin, the ground pork, 1 cup of the onions, the breadcrumbs, the parmesan, the parsley, the Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons of the kosher salt, and the eggs and use your hands to mix until it is well-combined.
Step 4 -Form the meat mixture into about 1-inch balls, then place them in the prepared baking dish.
Step 5 -Bake the meatballs until they are no longer pink on the inside and slightly brown on the outside, about 10 minutes.
Step 6 -Cover the baking dish with foil to keep the meatballs warm until serving.
Step 7 -In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil.
Step 8 -Add the remaining onions, the celery, the garlic, and the remaining salt to the heated olive oil and cook until the onions have softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 9 -Add the chicken stock and the pesto to the veggie mixture and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer until the celery is tender, about 10 minutes.
Step 10 -Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup mixture to a boil.
Step 11 -Add the ditalini pasta to the soup mixture and cook the pasta to al dente, about 5 minutes.
Step 12 -Reduce the heat to medium. Add the kale to the soup and cook, while gently stirring, until the kale is wilted, about 4 minutes.
Step 13 -Ladle the soup into bowls and evenly add the warm meatballs to each bowl.
Step 14 -Serve.
