Italian Wedding Soup
Italian Wedding Soup
It’s cozy season!This is the best soup to clean out the fridge! I love to take whatever greens I have that might be wilty and make these delicious meatballs and soup that warms your soul while making the most of your grocery budget. My kids love to dunk hunks of crusty, buttered bread into the broth! Feel free to use this recipe as a guide, but substitute any ingredients you’ve got in your pantry. No couscous? No problem — use any short pasta. I’d even break up long noodles (but don’t tell the Italians; they don’t love to break the pasta)! Soups are also great for meal prep! Make a big pot on a Sunday and enjoy throughout the week for quick dinners and grab-and-go lunches. I try to make at least one pot of soup per week. Check out my soup roundup for other delicious soup ideas!
Equipment
- large mixing bowl, soup pot
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground sausage
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves removed, finely chopped
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 ribs of celery diced
- 4 cups chopped cabbage
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
- 10 cups low sodium chicken broth stock, or water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chicken base/bouillon
- 4-5 cups fresh spinach
- 3 cups cooked short pasta
- Parmesan cheese to finish
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix all meatball ingredients and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a hot soup pot over medium heat. Add all the vegetables, except spinach, and begin to sweat them down.
- Roll the meatballs, making sure each is about 1 inch in diameter, then set aside. You should end up with 20-24 meatballs.
- Add the water or broth to the soup and season generously. Bring to a simmer. Add chicken base or bouillon.
- Drop the meatballs into the broth one at a time, and gently leave them to simmer. Do not stir for 5 minutes to allow meatballs to set, then stir gently.
- Add cooked pasta. Add the spinach and allow it to wilt.
- After the soup has simmered 25 minutes, ladle into bowls with grated Parmesan in the bottom. Add more Parmesan on top and enjoy!
