Description
Italian Wedding Soup is a comforting and hearty soup featuring tender meatballs simmered with fresh vegetables, pasta, and baby spinach in a flavorful chicken broth. This classic dish combines savory meatballs with a light broth and tender pasta, finished with a sprinkle of parmesan for a delightful meal perfect for any season.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 8 oz. lean ground beef
- 8 oz. ground pork
- 1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano (or 3/4 tsp dried)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
- 1 large egg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper (1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper recommended)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
- 1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onion
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup dry acini di pepe or orzo pasta
- 6 oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
- Finely shredded parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the meatball mixture: In a large mixing bowl, combine the lean ground beef, ground pork, fresh white bread crumbs, chopped parsley, minced oregano, finely shredded parmesan, large egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Gently toss and break up the mixture with your hands to evenly coat and distribute all ingredients.
- Shape the meatballs: Form the mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter, and place them on a large plate.
- Brown the meatballs: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally to brown on 2 or 3 sides, for about 4 minutes total. Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat the process with the remaining meatballs. Note that the meatballs will not be fully cooked at this stage, as they will finish cooking in the soup.
- Sauté the vegetables: While browning meatballs, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped carrots, yellow onion, and celery, and sauté until the vegetables have softened, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and sauté for an additional 1 minute.
- Add broth and bring to boil: Pour in the low-sodium chicken broth and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add pasta and meatballs: Stir in the pasta and browned meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Add spinach and finish cooking: In the last minute of simmering, add the roughly chopped fresh baby spinach to the pot and stir until wilted.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle each serving with finely shredded parmesan cheese. Serve warm for best flavor.
Notes
- Use a hearty rustic bread for the fresh bread crumbs; grind up a slice in a food processor to fine crumbs and save the rest of the bread for serving or freezing.
- To make a more brothy soup, reduce the pasta to 3/4 cup. Keep in mind that pasta absorbs broth as soup sits, so you can add more broth to thin it as needed.
- If you have a parmesan rind on hand, simmer it with the soup to add extra flavor.
- This recipe makes about 12 cups of soup, suitable for 6 servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 480 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
