Wedding Soup

 

It's sweater weather! That time of the year when you can snuggle up under blankets at football games and no one will give you a second glance, when you crave soup and hot cocoa, and hunker down in front of a fireplace with a good book.

In my book, Small Town Secrets, Sadie dishes up some wedding soup for Caden. Is it a sign of good things to come? Or just something good to eat?

Wedding Soup

Ingredients

Meatballs

 8 oz lean ground beef

8 oz ground pork

1/2 cup fresh hearty white bread crumbs*

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano

1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan

1 large egg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 cups 1/4-inch diced carrots

1 1/4 cups diced yellow onion

 3/4 cup 1/4-inch diced celery

4 cloves garlic , minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)

5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup dry acini de pepe or orzo pasta**

6 oz fresh spinach , chopped

Finely shredded parmesan , for serving

Instructions

For the meatballs:

Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Gently toss and break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch and transfer to a large plate.

  Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total.

Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in skillet. Repeat process with remaining meatballs (note that meatballs won't be cooked through at this point, they'll continue to cook through in the soup).

For the soup:

While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and saute until veggies have softened about 6 - 8 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to light boil (about medium or medium-low).

Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes, while adding in spinach during the last minute of cooking. Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.