Italian Wedding Soup

 Favorite Italian Easy prep30 mins cook45 mins total time1 hr 15 mins servings8 addedDecember 2018

Meatballs

• ¾ pounds ground chicken
• ½ pound chicken sausage, casings removed
• ⅔ cups fresh white bread crumbs
• 2 garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup Pecorino Romano, freshly grated
• ¼ cup Parmesan, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1¼-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They do not have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

Soup

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup minced yellow onion
• 1 cup carrots, diced into ¼-inch pieces
• ¾ cups celery, diced into ¼-inch pieces
• 10 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 cup small pasta such as tubettini or stars
• ¼ cup fresh dill, minced
• (optional) 1 dash nutmeg
• (optional) 1 dash cloves
• 12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

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