Sunday's Soup

Before you think that I've fallen off my pseudo vegetarian horse(I say pseudo as I eat fish like it's going out of style!), today's soup is 100% vegetarian. Of course, you can make regular meatballs if you wish, but you may want to give these little "meatballs" a try. They are really quite good and as I always say, good for you too!

Italian "Meatball" Soup

the ingredients;

for the meatballs,

2 15oz. cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion minced

1 clove of garlic minced

1 egg

1/2 cup of Italian Bread crumbs(I like the added herbs)

1 4oz. jar of chopped pimentos

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

For the "meatballs", place cannellini beans, minced onion and garlic in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Remove mixture from processor bowl and place in a mixing bowl. Add egg, bread crumbs, pimento, crushed red pepper, and salt and black pepper. 

Mix well with hands. Form mixture into 1 1/2" balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

 

While "meatballs" are baking, chop eggplant into 1" cubes. Place in colander and sprinkle with salt. As you can see in the picture below, I sprinkle with quite a bit of salt. Allow to sit in colander for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, rinse the eggplant well and drain. Pour eggplant onto a clean kitchen towel and remove excess moisture.

Coat an oven safe dish with olive oil and place eggplant in bowl. Sprinkle eggplant with just a little more olive oil. Cover and bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

For soup;
7 large tomatoes chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 large sweet red pepper
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil
8 oz. of chopped small portabello mushrooms
4 cups of water
1 large cube of Knorr vegetable bouillon
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil and add onions and garlic. Saute until onions are golden. Add red bell pepper and continue to saute. Chop tomatoes and add to pot along with the sugar. The tomatoes will begin to break down. Cook on medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Using an immersible wand, puree mixture. Add water and bouillon cube. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer.

In a skillet, saute mushrooms with 1clove of garlic until tender and brown. 

Add eggplant, mushrooms, and chopped basil to soup. Stir well and add "meatballs". If you will be freezing the soup, I would suggest that you freeze the meatballs separately and mix when you are ready to eat.

 To serve, garnish with shredded Parmesan cheese and a little chopped parsley.

A hearty soup that is light on calories and super healthy as well. What more can you ask for?
Enjoy!
Rhonda