Sweet and Sour Meatball Soup

by Millie Bentley

Greetings! Time for a crowd-favorite recipe. The recipe calls for ground pork – not breakfast sausage, just plain ground pork. (Any leftover fresh ground pork is really good in Pansit a dish from the Philippines that will make a grown man cry.) This recipe takes about half an hour to prepare and serves six persons.

Sweet and Sour Meatball Soup

¼ cup very good olive oil (extra-virgin)

2 large onions, cut in half and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

2 cans (15 oz.) diced tomatoes

2 cans (16 oz.) beef stock (4 cups)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (grate your zest before juicing)

Salt and pepper

1 pound ground pork

1 large egg

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Finely grated zest of one lemon

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (if available)

2 green onions, finely chopped

Heat olive oil in a medium to large soup pot over moderately high heat until shimmering; add onions and cook, covered, about 5 minutes until soft. Stir occasionally. Uncover and cook until onions are lightly browned. Add brown sugar and stir/cook about a minute. Add tomatoes and their juices, beef stock and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer over moderate to low heat about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile combine ground pork, egg, cornstarch, salt, pepper, lemon zest and half the cilantro and green onions. Mix well and form into balls about the size of walnuts.

Drop meatballs into soup, cover and cook about 8 or 9 minutes until cooked through. Stir in remaining cilantro and onions. Serve immediately in deep bowls. Yumm-mm!

Until next time, dear friends, vaya con Dios.