We have now officially entered the ‘comfort food and soup eating’ phase of Fall weather. I had heard about Italian Wedding Soup but never tasted it, so thought this might be a nice route to take. In my recipe snooping research phase, I learned that this soup is not served at Italian weddings, despite its name. The term ‘wedding’ comes from the combining of the meatballs, greens, and pasta. So now you know and with that knowledge in hand, we can get on with making this big bowl of comfort. First there’s a rich and flavorful chicken broth that has onion, yellow peppers, carrots and celery added. Simmer that for a while and then add meatballs (I use turkey but if you have a favorite recipe, feel free to substitute), and acini pasta. Acini pasta are those teensy little round shapes, that fit perfectly on a spoon. It’s always nice to add your favorite cheese and some nice crusty bread to complete the picture. A nice big glass of wine wouldn’t hurt either. After all, this is comfort food so let’s get comfortable.
I won’t say this is the quickest soup in the world to make, but it’s one of the most fun. I think the trick is to get the broth and vegetables going in their own separate little world, roast those meatballs, and then cook the pasta separately so you have total control over what’s going on in that soup pot and when. I like to make the pasta separately and rinse it in cold water so a lot of the starch comes off. The pasta will still thicken the broth (even to the point where you’ll want to add more broth if you don’t eat this all in one sitting) but it’s not all cloudy looking which is a giant buzz kill in my book). Add the meatballs toward the end of the show, but give them enough time in there to get heated through and give off some flavor to the soup.
I like to drop a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach into the soup right before serving. That way it keeps it’s fresh green color. Don’t be shy about adding some grated cheese and a big old hunk of crusty bread with plenty of butter seals the deal.
And now that I’ve finally made Italian Wedding Soup, I can see what all the fuss was about. It’s one that I’ll make again and again, and hope you feel the same. Feel free to substitute your favorite meatballs, different vegetables, or even different pasta shapes. Cooking is more fun when you make a recipe your own.
As always, thanks so much for reading today. xoxoxxo
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
- FOR THE TURKEY MEATBALLS
- 1- pound ground turkey – the key here is to buy the good stuff. My experience is that the regular supermarket ground turkey is full of water and has zero flavor so if I were you, I’d spend a little more and go to the butcher counter for some freshly ground stuff. I’ve been buying Diestel brand from Whole Foods which is also great for packaged stuff).
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 egg
- 2 generous tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- FOR THE SOUP
- ½ large onion diced
- 6 cups of chicken broth you might need more so probably a good idea to have extra on hand
- 1 ½ cups diced carrot
- 1 ½ cups sliced celery
- 1 cup diced yellow pepper
- 1-2 cups of fresh spinach leaves depending on how much you’d like to add
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 ½ cups cooked acini di pepe pasta this is about half of a box
- 2 – 3 tablespoons cornstarch This is optional, and used only if you like a thicker soup, which I happen to prefer
- FOR THE GARNISH
- 1-2 cups of your favorite cheese to top off the soup
Instructions
- FOR THE TURKEY MEATBALLS
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, salt and pepper, egg, Worcestershire sauce, barbecue sauce, and breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight to allow the mixture to set up and for the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the moisture from the turkey.
- When ready to assemble and cook: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Make the meatballs by scooping 1 tablespoon of the turkey mixture into your hands and rolling it into a ball.
- Place the meatballs on the baking sheet (this should make about 20 meatballs), and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from oven and set aside until you’re ready to add to the soup.
- FOR THE SOUP
- To make the pasta: Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil, then add about 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water and set aside.
- In a large Dutch oven, sauté the onion in about 1 tablespoon of oil until softened.
- Add the chicken broth, then add the diced carrot, sliced celery, and yellow pepper. Simmer until all of the vegetables are cooked through.
- WHEN READY TO SERVE
- NOTE: If you want a thicker soup, make a ‘slurry’ of 2 tablespoons cornstarch to about ½ cup cold water and stir together until the mixture is smooth. Bring the broth and vegetables to a boil, stir in the slurry, and boil for one minute which is how long it takes for the cornstarch to do its thickening thing.
- Add the pasta to the broth and vegetables, then add the meatballs.
- Simmer until the meatballs have been heated through.
- At this point, I stir in a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach and let them sit in the soup only until they wilt. That way they stay nice and green.
- PS: Some grated cheese on top isn’t required but it’s really good.
- Great job! Now it’s time to eat!!