Meatballs (use homemade or store-bought frozen meatballs)
GARNISH:
¼cuppine nutstoasted
Instructions
Make the pesto:
Combine the garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the basil, salt, and pepper to taste and process until ground into a paste. With the food processor running, drizzle the olive oil through the feed tube, processing until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve the soup.
Make the soup:
Place the oil and garlic in a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker, cover, and cook on low while you clean and dice the potatoes, garlic should be fragrant when ready. Add the prepared potatoes and broth and season with salt. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
When the potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, use an immersion blender to puree the soup right in the slow cooker. Or, puree soup in batches in a blender, returning the soup to the slow cooker to keep warm.
15 minutes before you are going to serve the soup, add the desired amount of meatballs, about 3-5 meatballs per serving, to the slow cooker. Taste and adjust seasonings.
To serve:
Ladle the soup into bowls being sure to get the desired number of meatballs per serving, top the meatballs with a spoonful of pesto, and garnish with a sprinkling of pine nuts.