Alison's Meatball & Cabbage Soup for the Demon

Here’s the soup recipe that goes with the duck broth in the last post. Alison’s meatballs, a combination of chicken and ground beef, sound delicious, but using what was on hand, I decided to go with the pork-venison mixture I had frozen earlier in the fall plus some ground beef. And instead of the pancetta in her recipe, I used “bacon bits” from our pig. It also occurred to me that I could use some of the great sausage from our local coop, if I wanted a quicker version.

The Meatballs
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove chopped garlic
2 Tb. parsley
2 oz. bacon (or pancetta), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
¼ cup dried breadcrumbs or panko (or more, if needed)
¼ grated parmesan
1 egg, lightly beaten
About 1 lb. mixed ground or finely chopped meat (beef, pork, chicken thighs, venison, veal, turkey)

Cook the bacon or pancetta in a small pan, but do not let it become crisp. Put the onion, garlic, and parsley in the food processor and pulse the machine to chop the vegetables, then add the mixture to the bacon and cook for 2 or three minutes until the onion has softened. (Alison omits this step, and mixes the uncooked vegetables with the meat.) Cool. Add the ground meats to the onion mixture and mix well; then stir in the remaining ingredients. Form 1-inch balls and refrigerate until ready to use.

Finishing the Soup
3 Tb. olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 large or 2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, chopped (Alison uses ¼ pound of spaghetti in her version, but I love potatoes in soup and have a lot on hand, after a trip to Costco)
2 Tb. chopped parsley
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
Several chard or kale leaves, chopped (optional)
½ head cabbage (preferably Savoy), finely shredded
2 tsp. chopped thyme
4 quarts meat broth
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
The meatballs

Cook the onions, celery, carrots and parsley in a large soup pot over medium heat for about 8—10 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Stir in the cabbage, potato, garlic, thyme and chard or kale and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Taste the soup and added salt and pepper to taste. Partially cover the soup and cook for 20—30 minutes. At this point add the meatballs to the soup and poach for 20—30 minutes.

(If using pasta instead of potatoes, cook it separately and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Add to the soup just before serving—or if you expect to have leftover soup, add to the individual soup plates, as pasta will swell up in the remaining soup.) I made the soup without the pasta, but next time I will use both!

After 30 minutes, check the meatballs to see if they are cooked through; continue cooking if they are not. When done, serve the soup in wide plates, sprinkled with parsley and with grated parmesan cheese on the side. Serves about 8.