Meatball Soup
Thirty years ago, when we first met our dear friends, Howie and Elaine Jacobson, Elaine served us meatball soup
for Shabbat lunch. She had gotten the recipe from a cookbook put together at the Yeshiva of Flatbush, New York.
I've made this soup now for thirty years, and I always remember it as the beginning of a long, endearing and beautiful
friendship.
You can put all the ingredients in a crockpot just before Shabbat, and cook it on the lowest setting until lunch on
Saturday. If you make it in advance, let it cool in the refrigerator and remove the excess congealed fat before reheating.
Meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
Mix well, and form into 1 inch meatballs.
Soup:
- 3 quarts water
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1 large onion, cut in eighths
- 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1/4 cup white rice, raw
- 1/4 cup macaroni, raw
- 1-2 T. salt
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp. dried dill
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
Mix all soup ingredients, bring to a slow boil, add meatballs, and cover. Simmer for 3-4 hours.
Stir this often; the high starch content can lead to scorching.
You can easily change the proportion of vegetables and tomatoes according to your taste.