Italian Wedding Soup-Two Ways
I'm making a double batch of meatballs to show both versions of my Italian Wedding Soup-Two Ways.
Equipment
- 2 heavy-bottom saucepots 6-quart
- 1 mixing bowl Large
- 1 cookie-dough scoop
- 2 rimmed baking sheet pans 1/4 size
- parchment paper
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Chicken Meatballs:
- 3 pounds ground chicken
- 1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 7-ounce container store-bought fresh basil pesto (use 1/4 cup for this recipe)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cloves garlic Freshly-grated
- 2 tbsps ketchup
- 5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Freshly-grated (reserve the rind and 1/4 cup for serving)
- 2 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs
- 2 tbsps dried oregano
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 tbsps kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper Freshly-ground
- 1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley Roughly chopped
Ingredients for the Italian Wedding Soup:
- 30 browned chicken meatballs 15 per pot
- 4 tbsps olive oil 2 tbsps per pot
- 2 cups onions Diced and divided
- 2 cups leafy-top carrots Diced and divided
- 2 cups celery Diced (including leafy tops), divided
- 4 cloves garlic Minced and divided
- 2 tbsps kosher salt Divided
- 2 tsps black pepper Freshly-ground, divided
- 4 + 4 quarts + cups chicken stock Unsalted and divided
- 2 1/2 cups Ditalini pasta (short-cut tube-shaped pasta in one pot)
- 1 24-ounce package mini cheese ravioli (in the other pot)
- 2 10-ounces packages frozen spinach Thawed and divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.Before starting this recipe, please read the notes.Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper of each pan with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray.In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except the ground chicken. Once everything is in the bowl, mix to combine. You want the flavorings to have the consistency of wet sand. Next, add the ground meat to the bowl. Using a fork, evenly distribute the flavorings throughout the ground chicken. It may take a few minutes, but it's so worth it for your meatballs to be light and tender.Using a cookie-dough scoop ensures the meatballs will be the same size. Scoop the meat mixture into your hands to form a ball. Continue until all the meatball mixture is finished.Arrange the meatballs on two baking sheet pans, leaving space between each. Lightly spray the tops of the meatballs with non-stick cooking spray to ensure they will brown evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes.In the meantime, prep the *Mirepoix for the soup. Dice the carrots, celery, and onions. Finish by mincing the garlic. Evenly divide them between two separate plates. This should take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Set aside.Preheat both stockpots over medium heat. To each stockpot, add olive oil and crushed red pepper flakes, carrots, celery, garlic, onions, kosher salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Stir to combine. Stirring occasionally, cook for 7-10 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.Next, add the chicken stock to each pot. If you have the cheese rind, leftover from grating the cheese, go ahead and throw that into your pot(s). Bring the soup up to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 10 minutes.At this point, the meatballs will be ready to come out of the oven. Add the meatballs to the pot(s) very carefully. Simmer over medium-low heat for another 15 minutes.Now it's time to add the (Ditalini and the mini cheese ravioli) pasta. Carefully give the pasta a big stir. Cook for another 8 to 10 minutes. Once the pasta floats to the top, it's time to add the thawed spinach. Again, carefully stir the spinach to incorporate it. Turn the heat off, and cover until you're ready to serve. Ladle a good helping into a porcelain bowl, and top with a sprinkle of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.There you have it, my Italian Wedding Soup-Two Ways.
Notes
1) For one pot, use half the meatballs. After the meatballs are cooked, take half of them (15 meatballs) to come to room temperature. Place into a resealable zip-lock bag and transfer to the freezer.
2) The Kcal count is for the pot of the Italian Wedding Soup using the Ditalini pasta.
3) Tip: If you're only going to use half of the meatballs, let them come to room temperature. Next, place them in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill. Label and date the Ziploc freezer bag before transferring it to the bag. Release as much air as possible, close it up, and place it in the freezer.
4) For one pot of soup, cut the ingredient list in half for one pot of soup, except for the pasta. Choose which pasta you want to use. Use only 1 1/2 pounds of ground chicken for 15 meatballs.
5) *Mirepoix: The standard base for most soups, consisting of celery, carrots, and onions.
6) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.