Italian Wedding Soup

My Italian wedding soup is a simple, robust, and flavorful meal with meatballs, pasta, and spinach in a savory vegetable and chicken broth.

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👇 RECIPE BELOW

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Ingredients

1 cup acini de pepe pasta, or pearl couscous
8 oz fresh spinach or 10 oz frozen/thawed

Meatballs
1 lb ground hot Italian sausage (See Note 1)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs,
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or black pepper

Soup
2 carrots, diced (2 cups)
1 medium yellow onion, diced (1 1/2 cups)
2 celery ribs, diced (1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Italian seasoning
6 cups chicken broth,
1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste

Serving
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Crusty French bread


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with oil or cooking spray. Set aside.

Meatballs
Combine the ground sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, garlic, parsley, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

Use your hands to mix together until thoroughly combined. Shape the mixture into 40 small meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each. Transfer to prepared rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Cook the acini de pepe pasta, or pearl couscous per package directions. Set aside, covered.

To a large soup pot or Dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onion and celery and sauté for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring often. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for another 3 minutes.

Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the cooked meatballs and any pan juices and simmer 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the pot. Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted (if using thawed frozen spinach add half, or all if preferred) about 2 minutes. Season to taste.

Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve with crusty French bread.

Notes
1. You can substitute the pasta acini de pepe for pearl couscous if you like. Because it's pasta, both will absorb liquid. I like to cook the pasta separate than simply adding to the soup, where it would soak up and leave you with little savory broth.
By cooking them on their own they are cooked and ready to add without the loss of broth. Also, it's a good idea if not completely eating the entire recipe at one sitting to add the pasta to each bowl and then ladle the soup over before serving. Freeze any remaining soup and pasta separately. Thaw and reheat both before serving again!

2. If you don't care for Italian sausage, which is made from pork, I also have recipes for Beef Meatballs and Chicken as an option. Use those recipes and then start using this recipe from the Pasta instructions onward, although read Note 3 for cooking.

3. I prefer to bake the meatballs all on one baking sheet and get a quick sear all over. I find it easier than browning all over in batches in the cooking pot. I think its a great time saver and any pan juices can get a quick rinse with water or chicken stock and scraped into the soup. One more pan to clean, but a time saver. As the meatballs cook you are cooking the pasta and sautéing the vegetables!

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