My Big Fat Italian Wedding Soup
Serves 630 mins prep30 mins cook
This Italian wedding soup brings together all the parts I love most — tender, bite-size meatballs, little pasta shapes, a broth that tastes like it’s been simmering all afternoon (even though it only needs about 20 minutes), and just-wilted greens.
0 servings
What you need
Instructions
Prepare the meatballs 0 Stir together [wprm-ingredient text="¼ cup dried breadcrumbs" uid="2"] and [wprm-ingredient text="¼ cup milk" uid="3"] in a small bowl - it will quickly form a paste. 2 Put [wprm-ingredient text="1 pound ground beef" uid="0"], [wprm-ingredient text="¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese" uid="4"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 large beaten egg" uid="5"], [wprm-ingredient text="1 teaspoon grated or finely chopped garlic" uid="6"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ teaspoon granulated onion powder" uid="11"], and [wprm-ingredient text="2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley" uid="7"] in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumb mixture and season with ¾ teaspoon kosher salt and a few good grinds of black pepper. Mix with a large fork or your hands until everything is evenly distributed. 3 Form the meat mixture into 1-inch balls (I use a cookie scoop like this one) and arrange them on a lightly oiled tray. Bring a small pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in the meatballs in batches, cooking for 3 minutes. Scoop them out to a clean tray. Drain off any liquid that exudes.The raw meatballs can be refrigerated up to 1 day before making the soup, and the par-cooked meatballs up to 2 days. Make the soup 4 Heat [wprm-ingredient text="2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil" uid="12"] in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add [wprm-ingredient text="½ cup chopped onion" uid="10"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ cup chopped carrot" uid="13"], [wprm-ingredient text="½ cup chopped celery" uid="14"], and [wprm-ingredient text="1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic" uid="20"]. Cook the vegetables until they're softened, stirring frequently, 5-7 minutes. 6 Pour [wprm-ingredient text="8 cups chicken broth" uid="16"] into the pot and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a simmer and cook 15-20 minutes.In a separate pan, boil [wprm-ingredient text="1 cup dried soup pasta" uid="17"] in lightly salted water 5 minutes, or half the time instructed on the package (it will finish cooking in the soup). Drain. 7 Add the cooked pasta and the par-boiled meatballs to the pot. Cook 5 minutes at a simmer — keep your eye on the heat to be sure it doesn't boil. Stir in the spinach and cook on low heat just until they're wilted. 8 Ladle the soup into bowls, and add some grated Parmesan over each serving.View original recipe