Italian Wedding Soup

I had a wonderful time in Boise with my sisters and girlfriends. We ate at all of my favorite restaurants and my sister had her co-worker make her AMAZING chile rellanos for us again. They are pure heaven! We watched a couple of really good movies, relaxed and hung out with my nephews and brother in law. It was a nice weekend away with some of my favorite people. It was great to get home to see my husband and children, it's amazing how much I missed my family in such a short time away.

It was snowing when I left Boise this morning and rainy and cold in Portland so I decided to make a big pot of comforting soup. I've seen Italian wedding soup in cookbooks for years but have never tried making it before. I didn't really follow any recipe, I just made it up as I went. I am sure it isn't authentic Italian Wedding Soup but it was delicious to us! We all really loved the little meatballs and big chunks of carrot. I used beef for the meatballs because that's what my husband wanted but you could also use ground turkey or chicken. I topped the soup with Asiago cheese and fresh parsley. My kids gobbled it up and my daughter asked if she could have the leftovers in her thermos for school tomorrow. I served this soup with freshly baked crusty bread for dipping.

Italian Wedding Soup:

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

Meatballs:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 tsp sweet yellow onion, diced finely
• 2 tbsp Asiago cheese, shredded
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the ingredients gently with your fingers until well mixed. Roll into very small meatballs.

Place the meatballs on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper or tin foil coated with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes or until done through. Don't overcook! Remove from oven and set aside.

Soup:

• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1/2 - 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules or chicken base (not pictured)
• 9-10 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup of stars pasta
• 10 oz baby spinach
• Asiago cheese, grated for topping
• Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes; add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 60 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the basil, oregano, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, chicken bouillon granules or chicken base and chicken stock. Simmer for 45 minutes over low heat. Turn the heat up to medium high then add the stars and meatballs; cook for an additional 10 minutes. Taste and re-season if needed. Add the spinach, mix thoroughly and serve. Enjoy.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - For the Love of Cooking.net