I love soup. It’s a fact. I love a good bowl of soup. Spring, summer, winter, fall - every season is soup season. My love of soup is actually a running joke in my family. Frequently, I receive texts with memes about how we are moving into soup season (or what most people refer to as fall), but the kicker is, my love of soup knows no season. I’m not lying when I say that I will eat a bowl of soup when the heat index is soaring into the high 90’s (granted in such conditions, soup must be eaten indoors with the comfort of air conditioning). But, still, I attest that every season is soup season and that soup should be eaten in every season. As we approach the cooler months, I feel that I can more freely share my love of soup with the world and face less judgement from others who have deemed soup a cold-weather-only type of food.
One of the many reasons that I love soup is that it offers a delicious, simple way to incorporate more vegetables into my diet. Soups usually start with a base the French have termed mirepoix: a mixture of diced onions, celery, and carrots cooked on low heat with butter, oil, or some other fat to soften but not brown the vegetables, before adding the remaining ingredients. By cooking this basic mix of vegetables in this way, it releases their aromatic qualities into the soup and helps to create depth and layers of flavor in your soup. Additionally, mirepoix can often be found in the produce section of the grocery store already washed and pre-chopped, a great time saver and a great excuse to make more soup! #eatmoresoup
So without further ado, let's make Italian Wedding Soup!
Ingredients
For the chicken meatballs:
1 lb ground chicken
¼ cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional, but will help keep meatballs moist while baking)
For the soup:
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
½ of a large onion, diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)
10 cup chicken broth
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup uncooked small pasta (like acini de pepe, orzo, stelline, or ditalini)
5 ounces fresh baby spinach
parmesan cheese, optional
Preparation
For the chicken meatballs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine all meatball ingredients. Once combined, shape the mixture into mini meatballs, roughly the size of a ping pong ball. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes (add an additional 15 minutes for extra crispy meatballs!).
Make sure that meatballs are cooked through with an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove from the oven and set aside.
For the soup: To a large Dutch oven add olive oil and the chopped vegetables, except for the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft over medium-high heat. Once vegetables have softened, add the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the broth and bay leaf to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat so that the broth is simmering. Stir in the pasta and the meatballs. Cook until the pasta is tender according to package directions, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaves. Stir in the baby spinach. The heat of the broth will wilt the spinach. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Ladle into bowls and serve garnished with grated parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
Italian Wedding Soup adapted from The Seasoned Mom/Blair Lonergan.
