Meatball Ravioletti Soup

Meatball Ravioletti Soup
w/ Spinach & Mushrooms

 Ingredients

Serves 4
1 frozen small package of Spinach_ thawed
4 Portabello Mushroom caps (sliced)
4 Meatballs _ (recipe on this blog)
Beef Broth 2 cans
2 TBS Butter
Garlic 3 cloves chopped
Grated cheese - Romano Pecorino  1 Tbs
1 package of Ravioletti
Olive Oil,  spices - Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder

Preparation: 

 Ravioletti.

1.   In Medium size pot -Boil water. Add tsp salt.

      Cook Ravioletti for 5 minutes.  Note: it's not fully cooked.  Strain and leave on side.

While Ravioletti is cooking. Prep the other ingredients.

2.   Microwave to thaw out frozen spinach.

      Place in strainer and squeeze out excess liquid (water) 

3.   Rinse mushrooms and pat dry with paper towel.

      Slice Mushrooms into thick pieces.

4.   Meatballs - if frozen place in bowl. pour 1/4 water over meatballs

      and microwave for 1 minute.          

      (Water over Meatballs will keep the Meatballs moist and not dried out)

      Meatballs can still be cold.  Microwave just enough that it's not frozen.

      Slice each meatball in 4 pieces. 

 5.    Add sliced Garlic and just a small amount of olive oil to Saute Garlic.
        Once Garlic is lightly golden
  6.   Add spinach with a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder.
        Saute stirring for 1 minute.
        Spinach absorbs the olive oil. Add little extra to cook the spinach so it won't burn.         
 7.    Add sliced mushrooms and 2 TBS butter.
        Saute for about 1 minute and butter is melted.
8.     Add grated cheese and stir in, cook for about 5 -10 seconds
        Leave mix on side off heat.

9.     Place in large pot 

        Add 2 cans of beef broth.

        Bring to full boil

10.   Add Ravioletti, Meatballs, spinach mushroom mix

        Cook at boiling point for 2-4 minutes.  

        When Ravioletti is cooked than the soup is done.

Optional: Add more grated cheese on top of  each bowl of soup.

Note:  If any left overs. All the soup juice will be absorb by the Ravioletti.

So, you might have to add more beef broth when reheating the left overs. 

Zucchini Parma Soup

Zucchini Parma Soup         Bariatric Friendly without the pasta

6 small Zucchini
1 Medium Onion
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 can chicken Broth
1/4 tsp of Salt, pepper and Garlic
2 cups of cut up Chunks of Pecorino Romano Cheese
Cooked Pasta Large Shells








 Bariatric Friendly: Use Banza Pasta approx 25 Rotini made from ChickPeas.
or use as a side veggie.

Peel Zucchini. Cut in 1/2 long ways and then chop into 1" wide pieces.
Place in bowl.
   
Chop Onions into small pieces. Place in Medium deep pot with 1/4 cup Olive Oil.
 (just enough Oil to cook Onions) Saute until Onions are lightly browned.
Put in Zucchini Chunks.

Add Salt, pepper and Garlic Stir and cook for 2 minutes.
Add in 1/2 can chicken Broth.

Cook on Medium heat.  all the way until Zucchini is transparent.
          


Cut small chunks of Pecorino Romano Cheese about 1 to 1 1/2 cups.
Take Zucchini Parma Soup off heated stove top and add chunks of cheese.



Stir and then serve on top of cooked pasta.

Italian Wedding Soup



Italian Wedding Soup  Serving for 8.

3 Escarole bunches. Cut off end.  There is a lot of sand inbetween the leafs so you must wash each leaf. Then place in a pot of water with 1/4 tsp bleach to sterilize them for about 3 minutes.  Then rinse under running water.  I like to use the salad spinner. this way I can take out the spinner and drain out the water and run cool water in it and I repeat this a few times.

Chop the up the Escarole into small pieces.

3 - 48oz Cans of Chicken Broth.

8 baby Carrots- Cut up into small chunks.

1 pc Celery -  cut up into chunks.

2 Tbs grated Peccorino Romano cheese

1/4 tsp pepper and garlic

1/4 small onion. Finely Chopped.

1 box of Italiano Pasta cooked aldente.

3 lbs of chopmeat to make 120 baby meatballs. Look under Meatball recipe for what you need and make meatballs first. ( there will be 4 baby meatballs to one reg. size meatball) so, the same 3 lbs of reg meatball makes approx. 30 meatballs to 120 for the baby one.) 

While the Meatballs are cooking then start making the soup.



After  Escarole is washed and sterilized. Don't worry about the excess water on the Escarole it doesn't need to be wiped off.

1.   In large 14 quart Sauce Pot.  Pour in all the chicken broth and onions. Cook under high heat and bring to a boil.

2.  Place Escarole in pot.  Cook under Medium heat. When you first place in the Escarole, the chicken broth will not cover all of it at first. 

Cook for about 5 minutes. Then -

3. Add in the chopped Carrots and Celery.



Escarole cooking.  Still hard.   



Escarole cooked when transculent about 15 min.

5.  Add Cooked meatballs

6. Add Grated Cheese

7.  Cook for about 3 minutes.

8.  Add in cooked Pasta.  and simmer for about 2 minutes.

Bariatric Friendly.  No pasta add 1/4 white beans.

                                                            Soup is done.

                                                  "Buon Appetito"



This soup doesn't take to long to cook.  The most time you will spend on clean the Escarole Leaves.

Hint:  When I cook my meatballs for my sauce I would make a second batch of baby meatballs and freeze them so, in a few days to a week I cook this soup and it takes much less time.  I put the meatballs a day before in the fridge to defrost.

CUCUZZA SOUP - Italian Squash Soup

Cucuzza Soup

Olivia @ 2 years old

Freeze in 16 oz containers. 

            CUCUZZA SOUP

• Sauce: 1 - 32 oz Nonna Fina Sauce (Fresh from garden tomatoes) or Sauce recipe below. 
• 3 can of Tuttorosso whole tomatoes. Cut ends off and discard. Then cut the rest up into chunks.
• Cucuzza leaves (Tenerumi) 25 - 30. or Fresh baby Spinach leaves. 
• Chicken Broth 3 _13oz 
• 2 -3 long Cucuzzas 
• 5 Potatoes.  Peeled and cut into chunks
• 5 Carrots.  Peeled and cut into small chunks
•  1/2 cup grated cheese.
• 1 cup cut up into small chunks (pieces) of Romano cheese.                                                             (It's the grated cheese before you grate it.)
•  1 box of Cut Spaghetti. cooked Aldente and cooled it off
•  Olive Oil 
• Onions 1 medium chopped & garlic cloves 5 chopped                                                                           

Cucuzza and leaves of the plant

1.  Pick the leaves from the cucuzza vines.  Pick the small green ones.                                                          Approx. 45-60 leaves for 3 cucuzzas.  Must be fresh looking not old or yellow.                                 You can also include a little bit of the vine chopped. 

   Place a few on top of each other and roll them up.  

  Take scissors or knife and cut them into pieces.  Place them in a bowl for later.

Roll a bunch of leaves up 

cut them in 1/2

and in 1/2 again

2.  Defrost 2 - 32 oz. of Nonna Fina sauce (fresh tomatoes from garden) or use 

    Sauce Recipe below.  

  Place chopped onions in x-large sauce pot.  Pour in enough Olive Oil just to cover the onions

  When onions are translucent add chopped garlic. Sautee until lightly browned. 

  Add in 2 cans of Peeled Tomatoes - (ends cut off and chopped into chunks) 

   1 Tsp Salt, Pepper, garlic, 2 tsp sugar, 5 pcs chopped basil

  Stir and cook for 10 minutes. 

  Optional Can add 1 small can of Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies for a little zing. 

Chopped Onion and garlic

Cento San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes 

   

 

optional 

3.  Add 3 cans of Chicken Broth (low Sodium)      

      Sauce is not Thick.  It's a soup consistency. 

4. Add in the chopped Cucuzza Leaves.

Cook for approx. 5 minutes on medium. 

Now steps to prep the Cucuzza. 

5.  Cut the Cucuzza into smaller pieces (as long as a cucumber) so it will be easier to peel them.

 

    Peel cucuzza (just like you peel a cucumber) Peel until you see the white skin and not green.

 Most likely you need to peel the same side twice.    

                                  

                                                     

                                                                                                   
                                                                   

          

6.  Cut Length wise. Scoop or cut out center if there are seeds.  As above the seeds are hard and large and we don't use them. 

                           

  7.  Cut into Chunks. 1" x 1" thumb size chunks. Place into pot. 

                                       

                                                                               

       8.     Add in Chopped Potatoes and Carrots                                      

     

9.  Bring to boil and cook for 20 30 minutes.  Until Cucuzza are cooked. shown below.



Not cooked yet.



Cucuzza cooked when translucent

   

10.   1 box of cooked Cut Spaghetti or Italiano Pasta.  Place pasta in bowl and add soup. 

                                 

 

11. Add in the chunks of romano cheese to hot soup.
Ready to eat!!

I prefer to freeze soup without the pasta.  When pasta is in container it draws out the broth.

To keep soup more liquidity I cook pasta separately or have soup without pasta.