Meatball Spaghetti Soup

Meatball Spaghetti Soup

Ingredients:

• FOR THE MEATBALLS
• 250g Minced Beef (about 10% fat)
• 4 Good Quality Pork Sausages (meat squeezed out of the sausage skins)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic (peeled and crushed)
• 10g Flat Leaf Parsley (chopped)
• 2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• FOR THE SOUP BASE:
• 100g/1 Large Red Onion (peeled and chopped)
• 150g Carrots (peeled and chopped into small chunks)
• 150g Celery (chopped into small chunks)
• 4 Cloves of Garlic (peeled and crushed)
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
• Salt & Pepper
• 350g Passata
• 400g Tinned Tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp Tomato Puree
• 750ml Vegetable Stock
• 100g Spaghetti (snapped in half)
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 20g Fresh Basil (chopped)
• 20g Fresh Parsley (chopped)
• 50g Parmesan

Method:

Directions:

To make the meatballs (if you don't have any leftovers!)

1. Combine the meatball ingredients (apart from the oil) and squish very well with clean hands. Shape into 12 balls.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and gently fry the meatballs in batches until browned all over. Remove from the pan and move to one side.

To make the soup base

1. Add to your pan (it should still have some fat in the bottom from the meatballs, if not add a splash more oil) the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Fry for about 10 minutes until starting to soften.

2. Add the tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato puree and stock. Stir well and then add your meatballs back in (if you are using fresh, just browned meatballs, if you are using leftovers that have already been cooked - hang on!) Pop a lid on and bubble away over a low heat for 15 minutes.

3. Give everything a good stir, add the spaghetti, the balsamic and the meatballs if you are using leftovers. Put the lid back on for another 10 minutes.

4. Stir through the fresh herbs and serve topped with grated Parmesan.

A big thank you to our sponsored blogger Taming Twins for providing this recipe. It's truly scrumptious!