Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

Once again the weather here influences my cooking.  The other morning after biking to school in the uncharacteristically chilly weather, my roommate Lexie commented "I really just want some soup".  Next thing you know...we have soup! Italian Wedding Soup has always been one of my favorites and not only does it not require a blender, but the ingredients are so simple I knew I could find them in any grocery store.  This soup was the perfect way to repay our friends Caitlin and Jane who had us over for delicious jambalaya on Sunday and the perfect way to end a chilly Monday.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

1 1/4 lb ground chicken

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs 

3 cloves finely minced garlic        

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 large egg

For the soup:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion 

1/2 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced carrots

1 tsp garlic powder

5 cups chicken brother

4 cups water

1/2 cup dry white wine 

1/2 cup very small pasta

1 bag baby spinach

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese to garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a medium bowl, lightly mix all the ingredients for the meatballs with your hands.  Yeah it gets messy but hand mixing is the best way to ensure all of the ingredients get incorporated without being over-mixed. Using a tablespoon, scoop up small amounts of the ground chicken mixture and shape lightly with your hands into 1 to 1 ¼ inch balls. Place the balls on the cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned.

In the meantime, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery,  and garlic powder and sauté until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Next, add the broth and water and bring back to a boil. Then add the pasta and cook until the pasta is al dente. Add the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 2 minutes. Add spinach and stir just until the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. My advice at this point would definitely be to garnish the soup with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!