This easy mini meatball soup features balls of pork, sage & pine nuts in a golden vegetable-rich broth, it is light, nutritious & delicious!
Meatballs in a Vegetable Broth.
Many of my recipes involve a smorgasbord of ingredients from around the world, this one is different. Simple root vegetables, a bit of pork and some herbs are all this recipe needs.
But you will not believe the flavour this simple recipe can squeeze out in just 45 minutes!
Whilst my food influences are diverse, the British food I grew up with is very simple.
This meatball soup recipe relies on that simplicity much like my rabbit stew or cock a leekie soup.
The onions, parsnip and carrots give the broth a wonderful earthy sweetness that is perfect with the pork meatballs.
The pork is simply flavoured with sage and pine nuts… Do not skip the pine nuts they add so much to this recipe!
Is this Italian Wedding Soup?
Yeah but no, but yeah… Oh heck, I don’t know!
I have seen many dishes similar to this meatball soup called Italian wedding soup.
A traditional “wedding soup” is called “minestra maritata” in Italian which translates to “married soup”.
It is also in no small way, a form of Minestrone soup. But do not get away with yourself, wedding soup is not called that because it is served at weddings.
Oh no, that would be far too obvious, it gets its name from the marriage of flavours between the greens and the meatballs in the soup.
The lack of greens means that this recipe is quite far removed from the classic Italian version.
It is, however, a very British slant on an Italian American interpretation of the classic Italian meatball soup recipe.
That last sentence is EVERYTHING that I love about food! Authenticity is a sham, it is designed to stamp superiority and belittle others.
Food grows, evolves, moves and changes, my favourite example of this is the Vindaloo curry.
It is Indian, well kinda, it is actually an Indian take on a dish the Portuguese took with them to India in the 15th century.
I know it from the version of the dish that Indian migrants to Britain created when they landed in the UK in the 1960’s.
Recipe Hints and Serving Suggestions.
There are a few bits and pieces to take note of in this mini meatball soup recipe to get it perfect.
The stock is the base of this soup and defines the flavour. As a result, use the very best vegetable stock you can get.
The next thing to remember with your stock is salt. The amount in stock varies massively so taste as you go a season gently, you can always add more but you can never take it away!
When it comes to serving suggestions then for me it has to be a nice crusty bread.
Something like this spelt soda bread would be awesome, as would this simple farmhouse loaf.
If you are after doing something to bulk out this meatball soup then how about pasta?
You could get some little soup pasta and drop it in for 6-8 minutes.
Or you could take this British take on an Italian American take on an Italian recipe of in a Hungarian direction!
My Traditional Hungarian Goulash recipe features csipetki, little hand made pasta balls. They are simple to make and taste great!
Easy Meatball Soup Recipe
Simple, commonplace ingredients are at the heart of this simple pork meatball soup... You will not believe the flavour this simple recipe can squeeze out in just 45 minutes!
Ingredients
- 100 g (2/3 Cup)Carrot
- 100 g (2/3 Cup) Parsnip
- 100 g (2/3 Cup) Onion
- 35 g (1/4 Cup) Celery
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 500 ml (2 Cups) Vegetable Stock
- 2 Sprigs Thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
For the Mini Meatballs:
- 200 g (7 oz) Minced Pork Shoulder
- 6 Sage Leaves
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 25 g (3 Tbsp) Pine Nuts
- 15 g (2-3 Tbsp) Bread Crumbs
- 30 g (2 Tbsp) Butter
Instructions
- Cut the carrot, parsnip, celery and onion into a 3-5mm dice.
- Heat the oil over a medium heat and add the diced carrot, parsnip, celery and carrot and cook for 10 mins.
- Do not colour the vegetables, just soften.
- Pour in the vegetable stock and add the thyme and bay leaf.
- Taste the stock and add salt as required.
- Simmer for 15 mins whilst we prepare the meatballs.
- Finely slice the sage leaves and add them to the pork.
- Throw in the pine nuts then season well with salt and pepper.
- Add the egg yolk and breadcrumbs and bring together to form a large ball.
- Using wet hands roll into meatballs approximately 2 cm in diameter. It should make approximately 2 dozen mini meatballs.
- Heat a wide frying pan over a medium high heat, when hot add the butter.
- When the butter begins to foam add the meatballs and fry flipping until browned on all sides.
- Remove from the pan and drain the additional butter on a kitchen towel.
- Drop the meatballs in the soup and cook for a further 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 678Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 209mgSodium: 964mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 30g
Calorific details are provided by a third-party application and are to be used as indicative figures only.
Julie
Monday 30th of September 2019
This looks like such a great soup! Can't wait to try it!
Brian Jones
Thursday 3rd of October 2019
Thanks Julie!
Chef Mireille
Monday 30th of September 2019
what a delicious looking soup and as we are heading into soup season, it's the perfect time of year for it!
Brian Jones
Monday 30th of September 2019
Thank you!
Beth Neels
Thursday 26th of September 2019
Whether it's wedding soup, or not, I love this easy soup! The pork meatballs are spot on and I love the carrot and parsnip! I didn't miss the greens one bit!
Brian Jones
Monday 30th of September 2019
Thanks Beth!