Cheese Ball Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh riccotta cheese (goat riccotta is the best)
- 1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (or very dry goat cheese)
- 2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- dash or two of garlic salt
- 1 good handful of dry, crushed basil
- 1 stick butter or margerine
- 1 medium size onion
- 3-4 stalks celery
- a little dry parsley
- 2 cup chicken stock or bouillon
- about 4 cups of water--may need more, I don't really measure this.
Instructions
To prepare the cheese balls mix all the ingredients together. The mixture should be fairly hard, not soft as you make the mixture for ravioli. If it is soft, when you add them to the hot soup they will come apart and the cheese will just spread all over the soup--no cheese balls. Add more bread crumbs if it seems too soft. Roll into small balls about 1" in diameter. Set aside in refrigerator. In an 8qt stock pot, melt the butter. Finely chop the onion and celery and saute in the butter on medium high heat until they are translucent. Add the parsley and the stock and the water. Bring to a hard boil. Remove the cheese balls from the refigerator and gently drop them in the boiling soup. When they are done they will pop to the surface of the soup. Add more boiling water if the cheese balls are not covered. This takes just a few minutes, not more than 10. The soup becomes quite thick and hearty especially if you add some cooked pastine (small specialty macs) I like to serve this soup with a thick slice of Vienna bread or homemade bread and butter, and a nice green salad with tomatoes. A delicious meatless meal.