Today’s recipe is brought to you by the word mirepoix.
Via wikipedia: Mirepoix (cuisine), a traditional French culinary combination of onions, carrots and celery aromatics.
I felt it important to share this piece of culinary terminology with you since I start just about every soup with this wonderfully perfect mix. Once you have your carrot, celery, onion and garlic sweating away in a pot, you can add just about anything to it and make a delicious soup. So that’s what I did with my meatballs.
You can actually go three different ways with the broth for this soup.
1) Make an ultra thick, tomatoey, almost sauce-like base (as I’ve done below).
2) Keep the tomatoes but have a more soup like broth by skipping the tomato sauce and using only diced tomatoes.
3) You can make a clear beef broth by skipping the canned tomatoes all together and just using beef broth (or bouillon and water).
It’s up to you.
Next time, I think I’ll skip the tomato sauce so that I can have a tomato and beef broth… and maybe add some kale. Mmmmm, yes.
Hearty Meatball Soup
Hearty Meatball Soup
Servings 8Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.36)
- ½ lb. carrots (about 4) ($0.49)
- 3 ribs celery ($0.40)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.28)
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes ($1.39)
- 1 28oz. can tomato sauce ($1.39)
- 2 large cubes beef bouillon ($0.46)
- 4 cups water ($0.00)
- 6 oz. dry pasta ($0.70)
- ½ batch turkey meatballs ($2.76)
- 1/2 bunch fresh parsley ($0.35)
- 5 oz. parmesan ($3.69)
Instructions
- Wash, peel and dice the vegetables for the mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion, garlic). Cook them in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until softened (5-10 minutes).
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water and beef bouillon to the pot. Bring it up to a simmer then add the pasta and meatballs. Allow the pot to simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through.
- While the pot is simmering, rinse and chop half a bunch of parsley. Add the parsley to the pot after the pasta has fully cooked.
- Serve each bowl of soup with freshly grated parmesan on top.
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start with the mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion and garlic) in a large pot with olive oil.
Cook the mirepoix over medium heat until the onions have softened. It’s okay if the celery and carrots are still a little firm, they will continue to cook with the soup. I also like the added texture they give the soup if they’re not cooked down to mush.
I used two large cans of tomatoes (one diced, one sauce) this time around. Next time I’ll probably use a large can of diced tomatoes and just replace the sauce with more beef broth. Add the tomatoes along with the beef bouillon and water to the pot.
Bring the soup up to a simmer then add the dry pasta.
Add the meatballs too. They will infuse flavor into the pot as it simmers. Bring everything back up to a simmer and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked.
While the pasta is simmering in the soup, wash and chop the parsley. Add the parsley to the pot after it is finished cooking (the pasta is soft).
And then it’s pretty much done! Grate fresh parmesan over top of each bowl!
You can use any type of pasta in the soup. Small pastas (like orzo) work really well but I was really drawn to this large rigatoni while I was in the store.
Made the turkey meatballs this afternoon so I could make this soup tonight. I have bouillion in a jar of loose powder so I used 4 teaspoons thanks to a comment where Beth cleared up what “2 large cubes” makes. Also, I’m going with one 28 oz can crushed tomatoes and I may add a small can of sauce or a 14 oz can of diced depending on how it goes. I happened to have exactly 6 oz of farafalle in my cupboard and I’m excited to use that. I LOVE this website and I’ve had so much success with everything I’ve tried. Thank you!!
This soup was SOOO good, and it made SOOO much. I’m excited I was able to freeze half the soup so my hubby and I can enjoy it later this month. I chose the option with 1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, water, and beef bouillon and it was still nice and thick. I actually ended up adding 1 extra cup of water. The turkey meatballs were a little labor intensive, but definitely worth it in the end. I’m also excited I have about 25 left over to freeze and toss with another pasta dish in the future. Thanks!!