Submitted by Corina Zazulia

When my husband and I started becoming more observant and began keeping Shabbat, I barely knew how to cook. Fast forward almost 25 years and I’ve learned a thing or two along the way! Through the years we’ve hosted many Shabbat and Yom Tov meals, and have fortunately been invited to many as well. This is how I learned to cook. Lots of trial and error and many requests for recipes. Now I love to cook! I don’t always enjoy trying to figure out what I’m going to make for dinner ever night, but I love putting together a Shabbat meal. Soup, fish, dips, salads, brisket, chicken, lamb, kugels, desserts – so many yummy things to bake, roast, marinate, toss, sauté and grill! And then the peacefulness and warmth of bringing in Shabbat and sharing the meal with friends and family. It’s the best!

I’m known for my soups. Every year on the second night of Sukkot we have a soup night. I’ll make 6 or 7 different ones. We then sit in our beautifully decorated sukkah, which my husband built, and we fill up with nothing more than challah and warm soup. It’s my favorite holiday! The following recipe is from Susie Fishbein’s “Kosher by Design” cookbook. It’s always a crowd pleaser. Bon appetite!

Meatball Minestrone*

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce package) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dry Italian-style bread crumbs or flavored dry bread crumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 8 cups or 64 ounces beef broth (can use 4 beef bouillon cubes in 8 cups water)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with its liquid
• 1 (1-pound) can red kidney beans with its liquid
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 cup elbow or rotini pasta, uncooked

*I usually skip the spinach

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. If using, squeeze the water out of the spinach. Place it in a large bowl and add the ground beef, egg, salt, bread crumbs, and pepper. Knead and mix together. Shape into 1-inch meatballs.
2. Pour the olive oil directly onto a cookie sheet; do not line with tin foil, you will want to be able to scrape the surface later. Place the meatballs on the oiled cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the meatballs from the sheet; set aside. Using a metal spatula or spoon, scrape the drippings over the medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes or until the onion gets soft, stirring occasionally. Stir in the broth, tomatoes with their liquid, kidney beans with their liquid, oregano, and basil. Cover. Reduce the heat. You want it to simmer but not reach a full boil.
4. Add the carrots and celery. Cover and simmer another 10 minutes. Stir in the pasta. Re-cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir once or twice to make sure the pasta is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
5. Place the meatballs into the soup and heat through. If you are making this soup in advance, some of the liquid may get soaked up into the meatballs and pasta. If this happens, just add another cup or two of beef broth when reheating.

Yield: 8-10 servings