Thursday, September 3, 2009

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP


I am truly perplexed by the name of this soup. I have been to quite a few Italian weddings – and it has never been served. That being said, it is still delicious – and more importantly with my ‘Italian-for-a-day’ recipe below, extremely easy to make.

Okay – WARNING for those who are ‘made from scratch’ sensitive, the below recipe is NOT for you.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large cans of Chicken Broth
  • 1 package of chopped frozen spinach
  • 1 ½ lbs. of ground veal (can be substituted with ground beef, turkey or meatloaf mix)
  • ½ cup of bread crumbs
  • 6 eggs
  • 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

In a large pot, pour in chicken broth and heat slowly to a simmer. While heating the broth, combine, in a large bowl the 1 ½ lbs. of ground veal, one egg, breadcrumbs and ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese. I generally use my hands to do this – don’t be afraid! It’s only ground meat.

When well mixed, roll into small meatballs – by small I mean like ¾” diameter, tiny little, cute meatballs. Drop one by one as you make them into the simmering broth.

STOP THE RECIPE! There is a lot of controversy across cooks as to whether to cook the meat prior to the soup or cook it in the soup. I believe that it is better to do it my way because frankly, it’s my way. All kidding aside, cooking in the broth provides further flavor to the soup. Since we are already cheating by using canned stock and frozen spinach, we can’t really afford to take any other shortcuts.

NOW back to cooking . . .

Let the meatballs simmer in the broth 20-30 minutes and then add chopped spinach. Bring back to a simmer and allow cooking for another 15-20 minutes.

In a small bowl, crack the remaining 5 eggs and add the ½ cup of parmesan, beat until ‘frothy’ (don’t you love that word? Frothy?).  Drizzle into the simmering soup stirring slowly. Simmer another 5 minutes and voila. . . soups on!

This soup is rather hearty and can be served as a meal if desired.

Until next time – Ciao!

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