I stole this recipe for Italian Wedding Soup from All New! Secret Restaurant Recipes who stole it from Au Bon Pain. Italian seasoned meatballs are the key to this tasty soup. Meatloaf mix is combined with garlic, seasoning, Italian breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese. After the meatballs are formed they are browned in a stock pot. Then onions, carrots, garlic and spinach are cooked before canned tomatoes, chicken stock and seasonings are added in. Once everything is cooked, the meatballs are added back to pot with Italian pasta and cooked the pasta is tender. A great soup for a cold winter day!
February 4th is National Homemade Soup Day and making Italian Wedding Soup or any other soup I’ve posted is a great way to celebrate (to see more Food Holidays see the National Food Holidays category or look at the Food Holiday Calendar).
“It is impossible to think of any good meal, no matter how plain or elegant, without soup or bread in it.” – M.F.K. Fisher, American food writer (see more quotes in the Quotes tab)
In a large bowl add 2 eggs, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp salt and ⅛ tsp black pepper. Then add in 1 ½ lbs meat loaf mix, ¾ cup dry bread crumbs and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese; mix gently until well blended.
Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into 1 inch balls. Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Cook meatballs in batches about 5 minutes or until browned. Remove to plate; set aside.
Add 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots and 4 cloves minced garlic to saucepan.
Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Then add 2 heads chopped escarole (I used a box of frozen chopped spinach instead); cook 2 minutes or until wilted.
Next, stir in 8 cups chicken broth, 1 can (14 oz) Italian tomatoes, 3 thyme sprigs, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp red pepper flakes; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 15 minutes.
Finally, add meatballs back to the pot and add 1 cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta.
Return to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Remove thyme sprigs before serving.
Serve warm!
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 eggs
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ lbs meat loaf mix
- ¾ cup plain dry bread crumbs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 heads escarole or curly endive coarsely chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 can (14 oz) Italian plum tomatoes coarsely chopped, juice reserved
- 3 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta
Instructions
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Whisk eggs, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp salt and black pepper in a large bowl until blended. Stir in meat loaf mix, bread crumbs and cheese; mix gently until well blended. Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into 1 inch balls.
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Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook meatballs in batches about 5 minutes or until browned. Remove to plate; set aside.
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Add onion, carrots and 4 cloves garlic to saucepan; cook and stir about 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add escarole; cook 2 minutes or until wilted. Stir in broth, tomatoes, thyme, 1 tsp salt and red pepper flakes; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 15 minutes.
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Add meatballs and pasta to soup; return to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Remove thyme sprigs before serving.
Recipe Notes
I substitute spinach for the escarole. When making the meatballs, I used a 1 tsp measuring spoon and I made 90 meatballs.