The term “wedding soup” is a mistranslation of the Italian language phrase “minestra maritata” or married soup,
which is a reference to the fact that green vegetables and meats go well together.
However you want to refer to it, Italian Wedding Soup is delicious and it’s a family favorite.
I don’t follow any “written” recipe, this is my version of
Italian Wedding Soup…
Start by making your meatballs using your favorite meatball recipe.
I mixed together ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic, salt, pepper and a little water
and form them into tiny meatballs.
Here’s what I started with this morning, I didn’t count but it’s a lot!
Don’t worry, they all don’t go in the soup! I like to plan ahead.
This amount will make enough tiny meatballs for about 4 recipes of soup.
Brown them in a little bit of oil.
If you’re making a lot like I did, you’ll want to do this in batches…
Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towel to drain…
Fill a pot with two containers of chicken broth.
Add chopped carrots, celery and your meatballs to the broth.
I added about 20 meatballs to this recipe.
Add some frozen spinach, about a third of the package.
BUT please don’t tell my children it’s spinach, okay? They think it’s just parsley.
You can also add fresh spinach but then my kids wouldn’t believe it was parsley.
So for now, I add frozen spinach.
I let the soup cook for about an hour or so until the meatballs
are cooked through and the carrots and celery are tender.
About 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve the soup, cook some pasta
to add to your soup in a separate pot of boiling water.
When the pasta is done, drain and add to the soup. I used these tiny little “bow ties.”
In the past I’ve added cheese tortellini, DELICIOUS!
Here’s the soup, all done.
Doesn’t that look GOOD?
Top your bowl of soup with some fresh Parmesan cheese.
So…
What did I do with the rest of the meatballs?
I divided them into three different piles, wrapped in aluminum foil, placed in a freezer bag…
Now the next time I want to make Italian Wedding Soup,
I just go to my freezer, take a package of mini meatballs out and start the soup.
Let me know if you make the soup!
ENJOY!