Go Back
Jackie

Italian Wedding Soup

A really tasty soup that has a light broth, but is a substantial meal with the meatballs.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • For the meatballs:
  • ¾ pound ground chicken +
  • ½ pound chicken sausage casings removed
  • OR 1 ¼ lbs ground turkey
  • 2/3 cup plain bread crumbs
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 cloves
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Romano cheese
  • ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 extra-large egg lightly beaten
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • For the soup:
  • 2 tablespoons good olive oil
  • 1 cup minced yellow onion
  • 1 cup ¼-inch diced carrots 3 carrots
  • ¾ cup ¼-inch diced celery (2 stalks
  • Thyme bay leaf, Rotisserie seasoning, dash of cloves, fresh parsley, minced garlic -- all to taste
  • 10 cups homemade chicken stock
  • 1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
  • 12 ounces baby spinach washed and trimmed

Method
 

  1. For the meatballs, place the bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Romano, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a food processor and blend.
  2. In a bowl combine with meat and mix thoroughly by hand.
  3. Form into 1- to 1¼-inch meatballs and fry in batches in a large skillet with olive oil. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don’t have to be perfectly round.) Brown lightly and remove to a plate.
  4. When all meatballs have been browned, return to pan, add ½ cup broth and keep on very low heat while preparing the soup.
  5. In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot.
  6. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
  8. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender.
  9. Add the the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute.
  10. Taste for salt and pepper.
  11. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted.
  12. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan cheese.