Italian Meatball Soup

I've had a sick and very overworked husband lately. He finally got a chance to come home and get some much needed rest in the other day. (This is not as great as it sounds, since wet, cold weather postponed the tournament he was working, and he had to work his day off instead.) But at least he was able to take a nice hours-long couch nap, inside away from the cold rain.

I thought it would be nice to have a yummy bowl of soup when he woke up. Since I wasn't expecting him home for dinner, let alone so early, I hadn't planned on making soup, and had to use what I had on hand. Which turned out to be a limited selection of vegetables and a freezer full of some odd meats that we don't normally eat- like ground lamb and real sausage links. There was was ground pork, so I decided to make little meatballs, and use pasta to make up for the lack of veggies. Since making this, I've discovered my product of improvising is actually pretty much a real soup, Italian Meatball. Of course, there are tons of versions, and I'm not claiming mine is authentic, since I wasn't even aware of its existance prior to making it.

Sage was so happy to wake up to homemade soup, and the three of really enjoyed it. We are more vegetable eaters than meat eaters in our house, so next time I would half the meatball recipe and double the vegetables, but I will write it as I made it. I also think zucchini and/or spinach would go great. Other changes could be using half pork/half ground beef for the meatballs, and using beef broth/stock, instead of the chicken (omitting the worcestershire.) You could also increase the amount of stock for a soupier soup, although we liked it not as brothy.

1 lb. lean ground pork (or half pork/half ground beef)
1 medium onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs
1 egg yolk
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
cooking spray
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, thin sliced
2 celery ribs, thin sliced
1 (14.5 oz.) can of petite diced tomatoes
1 (32 oz.) carton of low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
! large handful of parsley, chopped
1 cup uncooked whole grain macaroni (or cavatappi)
lots of grated parmesan, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mince 1/3 of the onion and set the remainder aside.

In a large bowl, mix ground meat, minced onion, half of the minced garlic, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs, egg yolk together and season with salt and pepper. Using hands, form into small meatballs (about 1 level tbsp worth) and line on a rimmed baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray. (I got 45 meatballs.)

Bake meatballs for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through, shaking baking sheet occasionally to promote even browning. Once done, transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.

While meatballs are cooking, heat oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Chop remaining onion, and add to pot, along with carrot and celery. Saute for about 8 minutes, or until onion is translucent but not browning. Add remaining garlic and cook for another minute.

To vegetable mixture, add tomatoes, stock, worcestershire, 1 tbsp salt, lots of pepper, and chopped parsley. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package dirrections. Drain and set aside.

Once vegetables are tender, add meatballs to broth and heat through. Stir in cooked pasta. Remove from heat, and top each serving with parmesan.