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What a doofus I am. I went all gung-ho, made a kick ass soup that not only tasted bloody brilliant, but looked none too shabby. And I forgot to take a bloody photograph! So my dear readers, you will just have to trust me on this one. This is a soup worth making. It’s temple food. It’s comfort food. And it’s perfect for a cold winters night.

This is a take on a soup my Nonna (Italian Grandmother) used to make. She would make little beef polpettone (meatballs) in broth. This one is a slightly modified/lighter version, throwing in a couple of influences from across the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Broth with Orzo and Chicken Polpettone
2 litres of chicken stock
1 onion, sliced thinly into half moons
2 medium carrots, sliced into half moons
1 bunch of parsley, stalks and all
3/4 cup of orzo/risoni
500g lean chicken, minced
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
The rind of 1 medium lemon
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
100g grated provolone piccante or parmesan
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste

First up, chop the carrot and onion and sweat them in a little olive oil. When translucent, add the stock, bring to the boil and allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes. Whilst this is cooking away, chop up the parsley. The leaf part will go into the chicken polpettone, whilst the stalky bits, when diced very very finely (see picture above), will go into the soup. Throw them in the pot now and allow to simmer gently for a further 20 minutes.

To make the chicken polpettone combine the chicken mince, parsley leaves, lemon rind, spices, breadcrumbs and egg in a bowl. Mix well and form into little meatballs. Do them whatever size your patience will stretch to. My patience level was set to large green olive size. Just remember that it is better to err on the side of smallness than greatness.

The orzo (or risoni) can be thrown into the broth at the same time as the polpettone. Simmer on medium flame for 10-15 minutes. If the liquid level has reduced too much, just add some water. The orzo and polpettone should cook in the same amount of time.

Serve steaming hot, with a garnish of parsley and a side of crusty bread. This will fill four to six bowls.

Written by mellie on August 3rd, 2006 | Tags: Uncategorized | Category: Uncategorized |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL