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Italian Wedding Soup was a big part of growing up in our large extended Italian family. My grandmother would make a huge pot of this soup for every major Holiday. It was served as a first course, and I loved it. It was my favorite. I think we called it the "little meatball" soup though. Now with a family of my own, I continue to make this soup and serve it with the fond memories of my childhood. This is a great soup (memories or not, Italian or not) because it is healthful and appeals to many ages with the fun mini meatballs and little star pasta.
Italian Wedding Soupserves 6 to 8
Ingredients:1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4-6 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bunch escarole
2 quarts chicken broth
2/3 cup Pastina, or other small pasta like orzo
1/4 pecorino romano cheese
for the meatballs:1 pound ground beef or pork (of a mixture)
1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese, finely grated
1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 slice of sandwich bread, lightly dipped in a bowl of water to moisten
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
a pinch of kosher salt
Directions:Make the meatballs.
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In a bowl, combine ground meat.
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Add the remaining ingredients.
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Use your hands to mix everything together. Pull out any large chunks of bread. Do NOT overmix - just lightly fold over with your hands until everything is combined.
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To make your meatballs all the same size, use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon. Scoop out 1 teaspoon of mixture, and place in the palm of your hand and roll until round. Continue until meat is gone.
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You should have about 75 little meatballs. Place them in the fridge to firm up while you start the soup.
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Peel and dice the carrots and onion. Mince the garlic.
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Place a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and carrots, onion and garlic. Saute for about 5-7 minutes.
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Wash and trim outer leaves from escarole. Chop escarole into smaller pieces.
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Add the escarole to the soup. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
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Once boiled, add the meatballs and continue to cook over medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.
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Now you can add the pasta, just make sure it is a small pasta like pastina (little stars) or orzo - my grandmother always cooked her pasta in a separate pan to avoid overstarching the soup. I tend to be lazy here and just add mine to the soup pan. It is your preference. Continue cooking soup with pasta for another 8 minutes. Add about 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano cheese to the soup to finish it off, and serve while hot.
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This soup is hearty and will warm you right up on a cold day.
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My boys love the little meatballs.
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This is a great soup to entertain with. I loved sharing this meal with my brother Joe, my sister in law Lacie and my cute little nephew Silas.
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Silas' first bite of Italian Wedding Soup.
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He loved it and couldn't get enough! It made me so happy to enjoy this memorable soup with people I love.
Enjoy making this soup for your family!
This looks like a very yummy soup! Little meatball are always a big hit.
ReplyDeletewhere do you find the escarole ? I have never heard of it.
ReplyDeleteWe just enjoyed this for Lissy's birthday supper. Fantastic flavor, and it we enjoyed some momma-daughter time rolling all those meatballs! Thanks for sharing :)
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