Hearty Minestrone with Cheesy Chicken Meatballs

Is it cold enough for you?

It’s not at all hard to be in a soup mood this week!

I wondered if I should post a recipe for minestrone soup, because it just seems so basic. The truth is, there’s actually no set recipe for the ever-popular minestrone soup. It’s simply a hearty Italian soup full of vegetables. If you don’t like an ingredient you leave it out, if you want to add beans, pasta or even cheesy chicken meatballs you just do.

What you need:

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs butter

1 medium red onion chopped

2 medium carrots chopped

1 medium potato chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 tbs fresh rosemary

1 handful fresh basil

1 tin canned diced tomatoes

1 litre chicken stock

Pecorino shavings

For the Cheesy Chicken Meatballs:

500g minced chicken

1 clove garlic

1 tbs rosemary

Mozzarella cheese cubed (one cube per meatball)

What you do:

Heat oil and butter in a large pan over low heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, potato and rosemary and cook covered until soft. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Once reduced slightly add some basil. Season to taste.

In the mean time combine the meatball ingredients (excluding the cheese) into a bowl, mix well and season. Roll level tablespoons and form each meatball around a mozzarella cube, making sure to cover cheese completely. Add meatballs to a pan, simmer while covered for 15 minutes or until cooked.

Serve minestrone and meatballs topped with basil, pecorino shavings and a drizzle of olive oil.

Stay warm!