Sausage Balls Minestrone

Chill in the air, some hearty soup can only be a good thing, especially when they are scrumptiously delicious.

We have got an Italian recipe that is a total winner to whet the appetite, perfect for the autumn weather.

Ingredients:

350g pork sausage meat

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 celery sticks, topped and tailed and finely chopped

1 medium fennel bulb, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

2 ½ pints chicken stock (4 chicken cubes dissolved in hot water)

175g macaroni

200g peas

a bunch of parley, roughly chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Preparation:

Shaped the sausage meat into balls.

Heat a large frying pan, add the oil and and fry the sausage balls until golden brown on all sides.

Remove the sausage balls from the pan and set aside.

Using the same pan over a medium heat, fry the onion, celery, fennel and carrot for 10 minutes of until they’ve softened.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Add the macaroni and cook until al dente.

Return the sausage balls to the pan and simmer for at least 5 minutes.

Add the peas.

Season with salt and pepper according to taste.

Serve topped with parley and a generous dusting of freshly grated  Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy with some crusty bread.

Yum