Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup has been one of my favorites for years. It's a meal in a bowl and who doesn't like meatballs? Brings me back to my Spaghetti-O's with Meatballs phase. But this is much butter. The recipe I originally followed was Rachael Ray's, but I've tweaked and added (specifically more broth) over the years.  Make this big batch and freeze the leftovers in muffin tins. They reheat wonderfully. 

Ingredients: 

-2 Tbsp olive oil

-4 carrots, peeled and diced

-3 ribs of celery, peeled and diced

-1 large white onion

-1 dried bay leaf

-1 lb lean ground beef, veal or pork

-1 egg, beaten

-3 garlic cloves, minced

-1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

-1/2 tsp nutmeg

-1/2 cup bread crumbs

-10 cups chicken stock

-1 pkg (16 oz) of small pasta - I use Acini di Pepe (orzo or mini shells will work, too)
-1 lb (large bag) baby spinach




First, dice your white onion, four carrots, and three celery ribs. In a large stockpot heat 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add your chopped veggies and bay leaf.  Add some salt and pepper and saute a few minutes until the onions are translucent but not browned.

Add 10 cups of chicken stock to the pot and turn up the heat and bring to a slow boil.  

While the stock is warming up, make your meatballs.  Combine 1 lb of ground meat, 1 beaten egg, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese in a large bowl, salt and pepper.  Use your hands to mix together. Start to form small balls out of the meat mixture to make little meatballs.  You can stack these on a plate while the soup is warming up. 

Add the meatballs and dried pasta to the pot of simmering stock. The meatballs will cook in the soup.  After 10-15 minutes your pasta and meatballs should be done.  Working in handfuls at a time, add the spinach to the soup and stir to wilt the spinach.  Continue until you've added all of your spinach. 

Serve the soup warm and garnish with a few pieces of shaved parmesan. 

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