Soup's On, Come and Get It

I add the fresh spinach as I’m serving to keep it al dente and bright green.

I started making this soup by Ina Garten years ago and tweaked it along the way. Now I make a double batch of the meatballs (the most labor- intensive part of this recipe) and freeze half for later use. I always give some to my trainer who is Italian and doesn’t get a lot of home cooking.

Italian Wedding Soup

Prep: 30 minutes

Cook: 45 minutes

Total: 1 hr. 15 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken

1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed

2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

3 tablespoons milk

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 cup minced yellow onion

1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

10 quality, range free chicken broth (I use Imagine)

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup small pasta such as tiny shells

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned (I start checking them at 20 minutes as they can burn because they are small). Set aside.

3. In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Inspired by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics