Harissa, Meatball + Cannelini Bean Soup

Harissa, Meatball + Cannellini Bean Soup 

Serves 6.

Gluten-free, dairy-free

I love a good soup that actually feels like a complete meal. Fully satisfied. It doesn’t leave you feeling like something didn’t quite hit right and you need a top-up on dessert or some toasties. This one I even think doesn’t really need toasted bread with it. Its got a variety of textures with vegetables and beans, the hearty meatballs in every few mouthfuls, and all slurped up with a beautiful broth. Of course, the shaved parmesan is a great addition for cheese lovers but again not completely required if you don’t have it.

Don’t let me stop you from enjoying your toast and soup but I allow yourself to ponder whether this one actually needs it. Its often a habit that the two need to go hand in hand, but maybe this time its great just as is.

This soup will leave you feeling satisfied from the variety of flavour, textures, and is filling. Also, a nice light feeling in your stomach as it’s not too heavy with dense carbs. A fabulous lunch or dinner in cooler months.

Let’s talk about Harissa paste. I love the flavour of this ‘one paste wonder’. I found it really hard to find a good harissa paste in NZ that I like the flavour and texture of, well especially when you live rurally. So I developed my own and now use it in so much of my cooking. Its loaded with charred capsicums, chipotle, cumin, coriander, caraway etc. I made this one with olive oil and maple syrup to avoid the nasty oils, sugars, and extra preservatives (and numbers, who knows what bloody numbers are?). This one isn’t quite as intense or spicy as some traditional ones so you can use it as a swap for sauce/chutney, marinate on chicken, with avo+toast, on top of poached eggs, mix through yoghurt for a flavour bomb or like this recipe, for our flavour pop. So instead of needing 7 extra spices we just use this harissa to do the job.

If you want to try some I have it available on our online store here or pop into Local & Friday and grab a jar.

My only advice is to just get creative and try it with lots of your foods to see how you like to use it best.

Handy swaps:

Beef mince: Use lamb, pork or chicken mince

Cannelini Beans: Use chickpeas, butterbeans or lentils

Ingredients

½ onion

½ leek

1 celery stick

2 small carrots

6 cloves garlic, crushed

4 tbsp Local&Friday harissa paste

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1.5L chicken or vegetable stock

1 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar

Juice of half a lemon  

1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

60g spinach or silverbeet, roughly chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Meatballs

300g beef mince

½ onion, grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 egg

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup grated parmesan

½ tsp oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika

Method

Using a heavy-bottomed, oven-proof dish or pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, leek, celery, carrot, and 1 tsp salt and cook for 10 min, stirring frequently until vegetables soften slightly. Add garlic and harissa paste, and cook for 2 minutes until aromatic. Add tomatoes and chicken stock, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile; For the meatballs, combine all ingredients in a medium-size bowl and mix together with your hands until well combined. Using a teaspoon, spoon out heaped teaspoons of mixture and roll them into small balls. Place in the fridge. 

Remove the lid from the soup, giving it a good stir and add the spinach/silverbeet, maple syrup/brown sugar, lemon juice and cannellini beans. Cook for 2 minutes before gently placing the meatballs into the soup, making sure they are slightly covered by the liquid. Cover the pot and cook for 10 minutes. Season to taste.

Serve with a good shaving of parmesan and crusty bread.