Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

Italian Bean and Greens Soup with Mini Meatballs and Herbed Flatbread

Category: Soup

Serves/Makes: 4 adult servings
Difficulty: 3
Prep/Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

Soup
2 T olive oil
4 pieces thick cut bacon (chopped)
2 medium onions (chopped)
4 cloves garlic minced**
1 cup uncooked potato (small dice)
2 t dried basil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 pound chopped mustard green leaves*
2 15 ounce cans cannellini beans (one drained)
5 cups homemade chicken stock (if possible)
3 cups water

Meatballs
1 pound ground sirloin or ground brisket
3 slices white bread (crust cut off)
1/2 cup milk
1 t ground fennel seed
1 t ground corriander seed
1 t smoked paprika
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (finely grated)
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 large egg yolk
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Flat Bread
1 tube refrigerated pizza crust
Lightly flavored Olive Oil
Very good light tasting olive oil
1 T minced garlic**
2 T fresh basil (finely chopped)
2 t fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano (finely grated)
Kosher salt

Directions:

Soup
In a Dutch Oven over med-high heat, add olive oil. Add chopped bacon and cook about 2 minutes. Add onions, garlic, potato and dried basil. add 1/2 t kosher salt and 1/4 t black pepper and cook about 4 minutes.

Lower heat to low and add as many mustard greens as you fit in pan. Toss with tongs, put lid on and begin wilting. Add nutmeg and another pinch of salt and pepper. After a minute or so toss again and add rest of greens. Put lid back on and wilt completely, tossing occasionally, about 3 minutes. Taste for salt content. Remove lid and add both cans cannellini beans, chicken stock and water. Return heat to med-high. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees for flat bread.

Meatballs
While soup is simmering make meat balls. Put torn slices of bread in a small bowl and pour milk over, set aside. In a large bowl add ground beef, ground fennel seed, ground corriander seed, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and parmigiano-reggiano. Mix to combine with fingers. Squeeze milk out of bread and add to meat mixture along with 1/2 t kosher salt, 1/4 t black pepper and egg yolk. Mix then add chopped cilantro. Combine.

Oil hands and roll meatballs about the size of a large olive and drop into simmering soup. Meat mixture should make 42 meatballs. After every 12 or so very gently run a slotted spoon through the soup to sink the meatballs, making room for more. Be careful not to break apart meatballs. After all are in the pot cook for 20 minutes at a simmering rolling boil.

Flat Bread
While meatballs are cooking remove pizza dough from tube and put on silicone mat or non stick surface. Roll with rolling pin until very thin (about 1/8 inch). Brush olive oil onto a large cookie sheet and sprinkle with corn meal. Fold dough over itself and place on cookie sheet and unfold. Brush dough with olive oil. Spread minced garlic evenly over dough. Then sprinkle with rosemary, basil and parmigiano-reggiano. Lightly sprinkle a pinch of salt. Bake for 9 minutes turning pan half way through. When cool enough to touch tear into mis-shaped pieces. Can be frozen in an air tight plastic bag.

* You can buy mustard greens by the bunch, but there is a lot of waste in the stalks. At the big box supermarkets (Wal-Mart, Sams-Club, Costco) you can find a 2 pound bag of chopped mustard greens. Go through them and remove any stalks before putting in your soup.

** For minced garlic take 15 large peeled cloves and put in small bowl of food processor or container of immersion blender with blade. Process until finely chopped. This yields about 1/2 cup. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and you will always have fresh chopped garlic when you need it.

Cooks Notes: When I first saw a soup with lettuce in it, I was skeptical but intrigued. I decided to try mustard greens since I love the way they hold up to heat and they have a peppery taste, not bland like lettuce. The soup with the meatballs and bread is an entire meal. Even for the meat and potatoes lover this soup satisfies. Don't let the ingredient list scare you away. This soup is a great make ahead meal and freezes well. My husband thinks the flavor gets even better with time.