Chicken Meatball and Tortellini Noodle Soup

The title is a mouthful I know! We had roasted chicken last Sunday and being the obsessive twit I am, I had to make chicken stock from the leftovers. I remember seeing Tyler Florence (he is mine Donna, so stay away), make this amazing soup and I wanted to try it!

It is a bit labor intensive, but not so much if you have freshly made stock on hand, which I obviously did. I will give you the recipe as he wrote it just in case you are not an obsessive twit, who spends her days boiling chicken bones!

I doubled the meatballs, vegetables and tortellini and made a huge pot of this soup, and I had about a gallon and a half of chicken stock.

Ingredients: Chicken Meatballs

4 links organic chicken-apple sausage meat, or equivalent ground chicken meat

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (2 slices of fresh white bread ground up)

1/2 cup whole milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil

Ingredients: Soup

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 large carrots, cut into circles

1 medium onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

4 fresh thyme sprigs

2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth

4 black peppercorns1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 lb cheese tortellini, store bought

kosher salt

1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

grated Parmesan for top of soup

1 crusty baguette, to serve with the soup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Take a large mixing bowl and add loose ground chicken meat (discard cases if using sausages), breadcrumbs, milk, egg, parsley and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan.

Season with salt and pepper then mix until fully combined.

Using an small scoop, make balls and set out on a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan.

Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and caramelised.

While the meatballs are cooking make the soup.

Set a large stock pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, garlic and thyme and gently sauté until fragrant – about 2 minutes.

Add carrots, onion and celery, season with salt and cook for 5-7 minutes.

Pour in chicken broth and add peppercorns, parsley and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Once meatballs are cooked, scrape into the pot of chicken soup and add tortellini so everything is back in the pot.

Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to come together.

Give it a final season with salt and pepper and serve in shallow bowls with a small shower of parsley and grated Parmesan.