That’s Amore!!

My family has celebrated the cold weather by having soup every Thursday for the past 3 years.  We take turns, every family member gets a chance to pick their soup.  We have tried close to 100 different soup recipes.  I have a two basic rules to “Souper Thursday,” one, soups must be healthy as possible (so no stuffed potato soup and no cream soups, though I make a rare exception) two, no shortcuts allowed except to use boxed soup stocks.   Tonight was my night to pick and I have always wanted to try Italian Wedding Soup. I searched a long time through recipes trying to find the most “authentic” recipe.  Some called for pasta, some didn’t, some called for carrots and celery in the base, some didn’t.  Some added an egg and cheese, some didn’t.  Recipes that called for frozen meatballs or gave a meatball recipe that used garlic and onion powder instead of the real thing were out.  I took a little out of 3 different recipes and have to say that this was one of the best soups we’ve had.  And believe me, after trying 100 new soups, it’s really hard to say which are the best, we have lots of new favorites!  I took notes, dear reader, so you don’t have to try to meld several recipes into one. So here you go, from 3 recipes down to 1…drum roll please…

Italian Wedding Soup

For the meatballs:

 1 pound of meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal or some variation)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup shredded parmesan (I recommend you shred your own off of a hunk of the best Italian parm you can afford!  Stella shredded works too, but it’s not as tasty.)
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs  

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with your hands.  Pinch a bit of the mixture and roll into a ball.  Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan and fry the meatballs on all sides.  Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.  Note:  my other recipes called for baking the meatballs in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Next time I am going to try baking the meatballs instead of frying them.  You can also make them ahead and freeze them for later use.

For the soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion diced
2 stalks celery with leaves diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8-10 cups chicken stock
1/2 head of escarole, pull leaves off and soak in water to clean.  Tear into small pieces.
1 cup of acini di pepe precooked (this is really tiny pasta, about as big as couscous. I cooked it ahead of time so that the pasta wouldn’t absorb a lot of my liquid)
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup Parmesan/Reggiano

In a big soup pot, heat your oil and add onion, garlic, celery, carrot.  Cook until veggies are soft (about 15 minutes until carrots get soft).  Add stock and bring to boil.  When soup is boiling, add escarole and let simmer at least 30 minutes! This is an important step according to one of the recipes I consulted.  You want the greens to infuse your broth with their lovely fresh taste.  You can let the soup simmer longer.  I did, I just put a diffuser under my pot so the soup wouldn’t boil.  Add meatballs and cooked pasta and heat through.  Now comes the weird part, but I think it helped make this soup so delicious that I want more for dessert! In a separate bowl, beat your two eggs and add the 3/4 cup of cheese.  Plop the egg/cheese mixture into the middle of your soup and DO NOT STIR.  Make sure this mixture doesn’t scorch in the bottom of your pan.  This is where a heat diffuser comes in really handy, it keeps stuff from boiling when kept on a flame. My egg/cheese mixture sat in the middle of my pot and cooked.  When the eggs are firm, break up this mixture.  Your soup is now ready to serve.

I know this seems like a lot of work.  And it was more time intensive than some of the other soups I’ve made, but once the meatballs are made and cooked, the soup comes together quickly. And it’s worth every minute of prep time!   I swear, my family tasted love in their bowls!  Enjoy!  And let me know what you think when you make it!

P.S.  I’ve gotten several messages from cooks who have made this soup.  Baking the meatballs works and helps them retain their perfect roundness.  So far, this recipe has gotten “thumbs up”  from everyone who has tried it.