Hearty Italian Wedding Soup
from ButterYum
serves 10
Ingredients
Meatballs:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely minced onions
1 clove finely minced garlic
pinch of salt
1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey
3 tablespoons Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
Soup:
8 cups homemade chicken stock
4 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
5 ounces fresh spinach, tough stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
1/2 pound acini di pepe
pasta, cooked (or other teeny pasta shape like stars, orzo, etc)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Garnish - sliced scallions, chopped parsley, grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Directions
For the pasta:
Cook pasta in salted water until al dente (a few minutes shy of package directions).
Drain pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and stir to coat; set aside until needed.
For the meatballs:
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onions and a pinch of salt in olive oil until golden brown; stirring frequently.
Add minced garlic and stir constantly until very fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit before adding to the remaining meatball ingredients; mix well.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Form meat mixture into 80 1-inch meatballs (I use this #100 scoop) and place on greased or lined sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool (no tasting at this point - they're not quite cooked through yet).
To make the soup base:
Bring chicken stock to a gentle boil and add carrots, celery, and partially baked meatballs; cook for 10-15 minutes until carrots soften.
Add chopped spinach and cook an additional 5 minutes.
To serve:
Keep pasta and soup separate until serving so the pasta doesn't get mushy.
Place about 1/4 cup cooked pasta in a bowl and top with a hearty ladle or two of soup (8 meatballs per serving).
Garnish with sliced scallions, chopped parsley, and/or grated Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired.
Note
Make a double batch and freeze some for a meal later. Simply freeze separately the chicken stock, precooked meatballs, and precooked pasta drizzled with olive oil. When you need a quick meal, just heat everything up, add sauteed carrots and celery, and chopped fresh spinach. Sometimes I replace the pasta with cooked wheat berries or quinoa.