Italian Polpetti Soup with Pasta

Ingredients

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  2 ½ cup or 592g

• Parsley

  Raw

  2 tbsp or 8g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 clove or 6g

• Carrots

  Raw

  ⅓ cup chopped or 42g

• Shallots

  Raw

  1 tbsp chopped or 10g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 tsp or 9g

• Chicken broth bouillon

  Dry, cubes

  1 cube or 4g

• Tomatoes

  Red, ripe, raw, year round average

  6 Italian tomato or 372g

• Ground beef

  80% lean meat / 20% fat, raw

  8 oz or 227g

• Parmesan cheese

  Grated

  1 tbsp or 5g

• Crushed red pepper flakes

  1 tsp or 0.3g

• Salt

  Table

  ¼ tsp or 2g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

• Macaroni

  Cooked, enriched

  1 cup small shells or 115g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 tsp or 9g

Directions

1. Boil water. Very finely chop the parsley. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Peel the carrot and chop into small cubes along with the shallot.
2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pot on a medium heat. Cook the carrot, garlic and shallot for 5 minutes (turn the heat down if the ingredients start to brown off).
3. Add the hot water, stock cube (or pot) and the tomatoes. Leave to bubble while making the polpetti.
4. For the polpetti, mix together 2/3 of the parsley and the beef mince. Mix in half of the grated cheese and sprinkle in some chili flakes (to taste). Mix in 1/4 tsp of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
5. Divide the meat mixture into small balls and roll into nice rounds. Add the pasta to the soup and cook for around 8 minutes.
6. Heat the remaining tsp oil in a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Cook the polpetti in the pan taking care not to break them. Remove from the pan when they are just browned off. Don't overcook them or they will dry out.
7. With 5 minutes to go until the pasta is cooked add the polpetti to the soup.
8. Serve with the remaining cheese and parsley. Enjoy!