Tuscan Meatball Soup

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If you are looking for a meal in a bowl, this is a wonderfully filling soup.

Needed for this recipe:

• Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Rosemary Olive Oil
• Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Tuscan herb Olive Oil*
• Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Black Currant Balsamic**
• Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Cayenne Red Chili Olive Oil***
*substitute Tuscan Herb with Garlic Oil

**substitute Black Currant Balsamic with Fig or Cherry Balsamic

***substitute Cayenne Red Chili with Chipotle or Baklouti Chili Oil

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chopped tomatoes

• 1 red pepper, chopped

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 litre beef broth

• 1 cup vegetable cocktail (like V8)

• 1 Tablespoon Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Black Currant Balsamic

• ¼ teaspoon Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Cayenne Red Chili Olive Oil

• 12 oz extra lean ground beef

• 2 Tablespoons Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Tuscan Herb Olive Oil

• 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

• 2 Tablespoons panko bread crumbs

• ¼ teaspoon Sunshine Coast Olive Oil Co. Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

 

Recipe:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Toss tomatoes, red pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil, then place on a single layer on a deep-rimmed baking sheet.  (They will produce a lot of liquid)

 

Roast vegetables on middle rack in your oven 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and stir.  Then broil for 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so (again, on middle rack or it will burn).   Ideally you want some browning of the vegetables, but nothing too charred.

 

While your tomatoes are roasting, mix beef, cheese, bread crumbs, balsamic, salt and pepper.  Form into ½ inch mini meatballs.

 

YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES FOR YOUR MEATBALLS:

  • To remove some of the saturated fat from the beef, pre-cook your meatballs. Once your tomatoes are ready, roast your meatballs in the oven at 400 degrees. Use a baking sheet fitted with a rack (about ten minutes).  They will still be juicy thanks to the olive oil.
  • After your soup is completed, with broth etc…simply add the meatballs into the soup and simmer 8-10 minutes.

 

Once your tomatoes are ready, place them in a large soup pot with broth, vegetable cocktail, Black Currant balsamic and Cayenne Chili oil.  Spoon ½ the mixture into a blender, and blend until smooth.  Return this to the soup pot, so you have a half blended, half chunky soup.  Bring to a boil and then turn down and simmer with lid on pot.  Add your cooked or raw meatballs to the soup and simmer 10 minutes.