Authentic Italian wedding soup is a simple recipe that has a hearty broth, handmade meatballs, and is packed with flavor. The best part is that it's ready to serve in just 1 hour.
½lb.Italian sausagefor extra flavor and spice, use hot Italian sausage
½teaspoonItalian seasoning
½teaspooncoarse black pepper
1teaspoonsalt
1large egg
1-2clovesgarlicminced
½cupgrated parmesan cheese
1-2tablespoonsolive oilfor pan searing
Soup:
1tablespoonolive oil
1cupdiced celery
1cupdiced onion
1cupdiced carrots
2-3clovesgarlicminced
1teaspoonItalian seasoning
½teaspoonblack pepper
1teaspoonsalt
10cupschicken broth
½-¾cupAcini di pepe pasta
5oz.fresh baby spinach
Parmesan cheesefor garnish
Instructions
Place the bread crumbs and milk in a bowl and stir together to allow the bread to absorb the milk for an extra moist breadcrumb.
Add in the ground beef, sausage, Italian seasoning, pepper, salt, eggs, minced garlic, and parmesan cheese. Work together with your hands to combine the meatball ingredients evenly.
Using a teaspoon or melon baller, form small meatballs and place on a baking sheet. We like a smaller meatball for this recipe so that it is bite-sized in our soup. Roll the mixture in your hands to form a smooth, round ball.
Coat the bottom of a non-stick skillet with olive oil. Heat over medium. Cook the meatballs, working in batches, to sear on all sides. They do not need to cook through, but should develop a nice, golden brown crust (2-3 minutes per batch). Set the meatballs aside.
Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add diced celery, onion, and carrots, and cook until the onion is translucent and the vegetables have begun to soften.
Add the minced garlic, salt, and pepper and saute 1 minute longer.
Add the chicken broth to the pot and bring mixture to a boil. Taste the broth and add additional salt and/or pepper, if desired.
Add the pasta and meatballs to the soup and simmer over low heat for 10-12 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through.
Stir in the spinach and remove the soup from heat. The spinach will wilt right away.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Storage:Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze it for 3 months. The soup can be reheated in a large pot the next day after thawing or placed directly in from frozen and warmed over low heat. Notes:Teaspoon size meatballs were perfect (about ¾ inch round), which yields about 42. Searing makes for juicy meatballs because it locks in the flavor. If desired, skip the searing and drop them right into the soup. However, there will be less flavor and it takes a little longer to cook. The small pasta (acini di pepe, similar to pearl couscous) soaks up a good amount of broth, but still leaves a good amount (the sweet spot is ½ cup - ¾ cup dry pasta).Avoid using low sodium broth, as it takes away from the flavor. We recommend standard or making your own using water and bouillon. Because we used hot Italian sausage the meatballs were mildly spice, but when mixed with ground beef, the sausage adds a ton of flavor and the texture is moist. Adjust the seasonings if using ground turkey or chicken meatballs so they are not bland. Other greens like kale, chard, or escarole can be used in place or with the spinach. However, you will need to add the other greens with the pasta because they take longer to cook compared to spinach.