This Meatball and Pecorino soup is hearty, filling, and healthy! Chicken broth is simmered with kale and tender pork meatballs, and served with extra shaved pecorino cheese. Leftovers keep beautifully!
Ingredients
1slicewhite bread
2tbspmilk
3/4lbground pork
1garlic clovefinely minced
2tbspgrated pecorino romano
1/4tspcrushed red pepper flakes
1eggbeaten
1tspsea salt
1/4tspblack pepper
2tbspchopped parsley
3tbspolive oil
1large yellow onionthinly sliced
8ozchopped kale leaves
4cupschicken stock + 1 cup of water rinsed from the box
5sprigs fresh thyme
pecorino shavings for garnish
Instructions
Pour the milk over the bread, then break up the bread with your fingers. Add the ground pork, minced garlic, grated pecorino, red pepper flakes, egg, salt, pepper, and parsley. Mix gently but thoroughly.
If you want perfectly seasoned meatballs to your taste, take a small piece of the meatball mixture and cook it. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments with salt and pepper. Once you are happy with the seasoning, form 1/2 inch balls.
Heat up a stockpot (preferably a wide one) over medium high heat. Add 3 tbsp olive oil, or enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Fry the meatballs until brown all over, then remove from the pan. Immediately add the sliced onion along with a pinch of salt. Move it around the pan to pick up all the brown bits leftover from the meatballs. Add more olive oil if necessary (I added about a tbsp), and caramelize the onions for 15 minutes over medium low heat.
Add the kale, chicken stock, thyme and meatballs to the onions in the saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the pecorino shavings. Enjoy!