Many have known since childhood a light transparent soup with meatballs. It was prepared by our mothers and grandmothers, and this recipe remains unchanged for many years. How to cook this first dish?
Classic childhood soup
First of all, many will be interested in a step-by-step recipe with a photo of a soup with meatballs “from childhood”. It needs the following components:
- 3.5-4 liters of purified water;
- 1 tablespoon of salt;
- 6-8 medium potatoes, diced;
- 3 medium carrots, finely chopped;
- 1/2 cup thin pasta (optional);
- 1/2 onions in small cubes;
- 2 large sticks of celery, chopped in small circles;
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten;
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- 2 tablespoons of dill, fresh or frozen;
- freshly ground black pepper.
For the meat component:
- 1 kg of chopped pork;
- 1 teaspoon seasoning for minced meat;
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper;
- a large pinch of salt;
- 1 large egg;
- 1/2 onion, finely diced.
How to cook this dish?
The meatball soup recipe is as follows. Add the required amount of water to a large pan and heat at high temperature. Put a tablespoon of salt and all your chopped potatoes.
Boil and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the carrots and put it there.
Add 1/2 cup thin thin pasta or crumbled spaghetti to the pan. This component is optional, but many people like this combination of products.
Cut the onions (half the heads are in the meat mixture and in the broth).
Preparing Meatballs
Place minced pork in a large bowl (you can either purchase it ready-made or cook it yourself). Add half the chopped onion, a teaspoon of seasoning, black pepper, salt and an egg. Mix well.
Make meatballs by twisting them with your hands. They should not be perfect in shape, just rounded. As soon as you use all the minced meat on them, throw them in the soup at the same time. Boil them for at least 10 minutes, or until they float on top of the liquid.
Meanwhile, heat the skillet over medium heat. Add vegetable oil, finely diced celery and onions. Fry until soft and golden. Then add this mixture to the pan.
Pour 1 beaten egg into the meatball soup, stirring constantly so you don't have any pieces of it. This component is also optional. If you do not like the egg, you can not add it. Put dill at the end of the soup. Serve hot.
What is good to know about this dish?
Even if you don’t like the smell of celery, still try adding it. In this soup, it will complement the taste of the remaining ingredients, but will not be felt much.
If you want to make a dietary version of this dish, you can use chicken or turkey pork for minced meat. In this case, onions and celery can not be fried before adding to the broth.
Italian soup
In addition to the Soviet meatball soup known from childhood, there are many other versions of this first course. So, Italian soup with beef meat balls and vegetables will also appeal to many. He needs the following:
- 0.5 kg of low-fat ground beef;
- ½ cup breadcrumbs;
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese grated;
- 1 whole egg
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (a mixture of herbs);
- 1 tablespoon olive oil;
- 1 onion, finely chopped;
- 3 medium carrots in small cubes;
- 3 celery stalks - in thin circles;
- 2 large potatoes, diced;
- 3 cloves of minced garlic;
- 6 glasses of beef broth;
- 500 grams of peeled tomatoes;
- 2 leaves of laurel;
- 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce;
- salt and pepper;
- Parmesan cheese and basil for serving, if necessary.
How to make soup according to this recipe?
How to cook meatball soup in this variation? Put finely chopped beef, breadcrumbs, cheese, an egg and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning in a large bowl. Mix to combine all the ingredients well. Divide the minced meat into equal parts and mold small or medium meatballs.
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Add the meatballs to it, making sure they fit in one layer. If there are more of them, you will have to prepare them in two batches. Fry the meat balls over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side. Then remove the meatballs from the pan.
Now put onion, carrots, celery and potatoes in it. Fry for 3-4 minutes. If you are missing the remaining meat from the meatballs, add a little more. Put the garlic in the mixture and fry for another minute.
Final steps of recipe with photo
Soup with meatballs is then prepared as follows. Stir the broth, tomatoes, seasonings, bay leaves and Worcestershire sauce in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then boil for 30 minutes. Add the meatballs to the soup and cook for another 15 minutes, or until they are cooked to the end, and the potatoes are soft. Put salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the soup hot with parmesan and basil (if you want to complement its taste).
Useful Tips
You can add both potatoes and pasta to this soup. However, potatoes are a good substitute for pasta due to its health benefits. This vegetable is rich in fiber, protein and vitamin C. In addition, it contains as much potassium as it is in bananas.
This Italian meatball soup, the photo of which is presented here, turns out to be tasty if you prepare all the ingredients yourself. The secret is also that the meatballs are fried in a pan for a couple of minutes on each side to get a golden crust and a delicate aroma. They are finally cooked already in the soup, which makes them soft, and also aromatizes the broth. If you do not have enough time, you can always use frozen or shop meatballs with turkey or red meat. It is best to do the workpiece in advance. Just in any free time, stick meatballs from minced meat, put in a container and freeze.
The sequence of actions also matters. You should follow all the recommendations step by step, and the soup with meatballs (photo attached) will turn out to be rich and tasty. First you should fry the meatballs, remove them from the pan and then place the vegetables there. So they absorb meat juice and become tastier. Beef broth and diced tomatoes are added to the pan at the same time and brought to a boil, they need to be cooked for at least half an hour and only then add the fried meatballs.
Serve this soup with fresh basil and cheese. It is also recommended to eat it with garlic bread.
Mexican recipe
This is a classic Mexican soup made with meatballs, green beans, onions and chicken stock. Suitable for the whole family. A step-by-step recipe with a photo of Mexican-style meatball soup is presented below.
A simple soup base is made with fried onions, garlic, broth and tomatoes. In a boiling mixture you have to throw meatballs made from beef or ground turkey and rice. They give the broth an extra flavor. Carrots, green beans and peas are also commonly added to this soup.
What distinguishes this meatball soup from other options is the addition of mint in minced meat. You can, of course, not use this component, replacing it with a small amount of fresh oregano or cilantro, but then the taste of the dish will turn out to be completely different. If fresh mint is not available to you, you can use a couple teaspoons of dried herbal tea.
In addition, you can change the amount and composition of added vegetables, depending on the season and your preferences. You can add spring peas in pods instead of whole peas. You can also put in the broth additionally chopped fresh zucchini or corn.
What is needed for this dish?
To make Mexican meatball soup, you'll need the following:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil;
- 1 large onion chopped;
- 1 large garlic clove minced;
- 3 liters of chicken or beef broth, or water, or a mixture of them (it is recommended to use one and a half liters of water and broth, as meatballs will give the soup an additional taste);
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce;
- 250 grams of green beans, cut into pieces;
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped;
- 1/3 cup raw white rice;
- 0.5 kg of chopped beef;
- 1/4 cup shredded fresh mint leaves;
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley;
- 1 raw egg;
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of tea salt;
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper;
- some cayenne pepper (optional);
- 1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh peas;
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 tablespoon fresh;
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.
How to cook this dish?
The step-by-step recipe for meatball soup is as follows. Make a soup base of onions, garlic, broth, tomato sauce, carrots and green beans. To do this, heat the oil in a large dry pan (5 liters capacity) over moderate heat. Add onions and fry until cooked for about 5 minutes. Put the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour in the mixture of broth and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Add carrots and beans.
Prepare meatballs: mix rice with meat, add mint leaves and parsley, salt and pepper. Stir with a raw egg. Roll the resulting mass into small meatballs. Add them to the soup, boil, put the peas. Put the meat balls into the broth gradually, one at a time. Cover the pan and let it simmer for half an hour. Once this time is up, put oregano, season with pepper and salt. If you want to spice up meatball soup, add a small amount of cayenne pepper. Serve with finely chopped fresh cilantro.
As already noted, in this dish you can conduct any experiments with the addition of spices and various vegetables. In addition, meatballs can be made not only from beef, but from any meat of your choice.