Ingredients
3 large egg, lightly beaten
1 c toasted bread crumbs
½ c minced fresh parsley
¼ c grated Parmesan cheese
2 T raisins, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1 lb 90% lean ground beef
1 lb spicy pork sausage
8 t Vegetarian Better Than Bouillon
8 c water
½ t black pepper
2 c cubed rotisserie chicken
½ c uncooked ditalini (or other small pasta such as small stars, small elbows or small shells)
½ c green cabbage, cut into thin strips
Directions
1 In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Crumble beef and sausage over mixture and mix lightly but thoroughly. Remove half to make Meatloaf. If you do not want to make a bonus meatloaf, divide first 9 ingredients by half, using 2 eggs to make meatballs. Shape the rest into ½” balls.
2 In a skillet over medium heat, brown meatballs in 3 batches. In a Dutch oven, add browned meatballs, bouillon, water and black pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken, pasta, and cabbage; cook 10 minutes longer until pasta is done and cabbage is tender.
This soup was a bit labor intensive and meat heavy but the flavor was wonderful and worth the effort. I’ve made meatballs before but not in this style, flavor, or function. Mixing thoroughly is definitely important for a meatball; but for these that go into a soup, the size is the key to success. The meatballs made into ½” balls are perfect in a soup. That means, each meatball is only made out of just over a measuring teaspoonful of mixture. It takes a long time to roll all those meatballs. If you have some extra hands around the house, I’d recommend using them for this! The original recipe called for spinach instead of cabbage, but I prefer cabbage in soups. It also listed a more traditional pasta, but I used what I found in the grocery store and it was perfectly fine. I had never used chopped raisins in a meatball, but they turned out to be a great surprise! The raisins absorbed the savory juices of the mix and delivered little bursts of sweet and savory throughout the meatballs. I could’ve used a few more raisins to cut some of the heat from the spicy sausage and red pepper flakes. I might double the amount next time I make this and use the whole 1-ounce snack box of raisins instead of only half. Either way, this soup is not to be missed. If you eat meat, make and enjoy this one!
If you’d like to see the original recipes my posts are based on or read Taste of Home’s article that inspired my 50 Soups in 25 Weeks blogging, go to: https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/soups-to-keep-you-warm-this-fall/.
