Italian Wedding Soup

No, this soup isn’t served at weddings – it is named for the blending or marrying of ingredients to make this delicious hearty soup. We’ve had a lot of demand for this recipe and what better time to make it than this weekend as the weather is cooling down and we’re all meeting over the Easter break!

It is a broth based soup scattered with small pasta, tiny meatballs and green leafie’s, like spinach. The type of minced meat you use is up to you. Minced beef, pork, turkey and chicken all work well with this dish. My personal preference is a mixture or beef and pork mince as it makes the meatballs extra juicy and rich.

 

 

Serves 6-8

For the Meatballs

250g beef mince
250g pork mince
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
salt and ground pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

For the Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups diced carrots
1 1/4 cups diced onion
1/4 cup fresh parsley
3/4 cup diced celery
4 cloves minced garlic
2 litres The Broth Sisters Chicken Bone Broth
3/4 cup dry orzo pasta
170g chopped spinach or Tuscan kale

METHOD

For the meatballs:

Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Wet your hands and gently and evenly mix together. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 2.5 cm and transfer to a large plate. Remember this is soup, not pasta, so keep the meatballs small.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick fry-pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides).

Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in the fry pan. Repeat the process with remaining meatballs (meatballs won’t be cooked through at this point, they’ll continue to cook through in the soup).

For the soup
While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and saute until veggies have softened, about 6 – 8 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to light boil (about medium or medium-low).

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 7-10 minutes, Add spinach during the last minute of cooking. Serve warm and bring on the parmesan.