Italian Wedding Soup
Makes 4 quarts (3.8 L); 6 to 8 servings
This soup actually has nothing to do with weddings! The reference seems to be a bastardized translation from Neapolitan Italian that originally meant to “wed” together lesser cuts of meat with wild greens in a minestra designed to nourish a group affordably. In a nod to its humble origins, when it was frequently made with offal, I’ve used sausage meat for the meatballs rather than ground pork, which also brings big flavor to the soup.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound (455 g) meatball mixture from Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, made with sweet Italian sausage instead of ground meat
- 3 quarts (3 L) chicken broth, homemade or store-bought
- 1 pound (455 g) escarole, trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
- 1 cup (230 g) small macaroni, such as ditalini, pastina, or orzo, cooked and drained
DIRECTIONS
- Moisten your hands and roll the meatball mixture into ½-inch (1.25 cm) balls, placing them on a platter or baking sheet; you should have 24 to 30 mini meatballs. (The meatballs can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
- Bring the chicken broth to a rolling boil in a large pot over high heat. Carefully drop the meatballs into the broth and gently stir to distribute them. Add the escarole, reduce the heat, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Whisk together the eggs and cheese in small bowl and swirl into the soup. Taste the broth to determine saltiness, then stir in salt to taste and the pepper. Stir in the cooked macaroni to heat through.
- Serve the soup in bowls with 4 to 6 meatballs in each, topped with grated cheese and black pepper.
PANTRY
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