Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a sheet tray with non-stick spray.
In a medium bowl, mix together all the meatball ingredients until just combined. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs - you should get about 30 meatballs. Place on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.
In a large saucepan or dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. Add you celery, onions, and carrots and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Next, add your minced garlic cloves and red pepper flakes, and cook for about 3 minutes.
Pour in your chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the fregola and cook for about 5 minutes, or 5 minutes less than package instructions.
Add the cooked meatballs to the soup, and allow the soup to simmer for 5 minutes. Next, add the chard to the soup and simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until the chard is just wilted.
Stir in the freshly grated pecorino and adjust seasoning as needed.
Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle each serving with addition pecorino and crushed red pepper flakes.