Tuscan White Bean Soup with Meatballs

Feel like you are in Italy! Light soup with lots of vegetables, spicy herbs, beans and tender meatballs.

Ingredients

• 2 l chicken broth
• 450 g minced meat (pork or a mixture of pork and beef)
• 500 g dried beans, preferably lima varieties
• 400 g pumpkin pulp
• 100 g greens of spinach, young beet leaves, Chinese cabbage
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 medium onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 3 tbsp. l. chopped tomatoes
• 2 slices of white bread
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp. l. grated parmesan
• parmesan for serving
• olive oil
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Pour cold water over the beans and leave for 6 hours. Rinse and transfer to a saucepan. Pour in chicken broth, add thyme and put on fire, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour over low heat.
2. Cut the crust off the bread and soak the crumb in cold water for 5 minutes. Squeeze and crush. Mix with minced meat, add grated parmesan, dried oregano, salt and pepper. Knead the minced meat and leave for 30 minutes.
3. Peel the onions, garlic and carrots. Cut the pumpkin pulp into medium cubes, onion, celery and carrots into small cubes, chop the garlic. Add vegetables to the soup pot 1 hour after starting cooking and cook together for another 30 minutes, until the beans are done.
4. Roll the minced meat into small meatballs with wet hands.
5. Raise the heat under the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs, bay leaf and herbs, add the chopped tomatoes, salt and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Pour the soup into bowls, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Serve the soup with toasted white bread.