Description
Here is a delicious homemade recipe for Italian Wedding Soup made with chicken (or turkey) meatballs, greens and acini di pepe pasta.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the Meatballs
- 1/2 pound ground chicken
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, preferably trans-fat free
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch salt
For the Soup
- 1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon dry Italian Seasonings
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups finely shredded greens, such as kale, bok choy, spinach or escarole
- 1 cup acini di pepe pasta, pastina, orzo or other small pasta
- freshly chopped Italian Parsley
- grated Parmesan
- high quality fruity olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
Make meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a cooling rack over a foil-lined baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.
- Knead chicken, breadcrumbs, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, yolk, fennel seeds, pepper, garlic powder and pinch salt in a medium bowl with clean hands until all of the ingredients are mixed together. Form into small meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each (21 meatballs.) Set on the prepared rack. Bake until cooked through, 11 to 14 minutes.
Make Soup (While meatballs bake:)
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add minced garlic, carrots, celery, onion, Italian seasoning and salt and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender, slightly browned and the bottom of the pot is starting to brown slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Add wine, and cook, scraping up any browned bits as the wine reduces to almost dry, 1 to 3 minutes. Add broth, cover and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add shredded greens and continue cooking until the pasta and greens are tender, 3 to 6 minutes longer.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the meatballs.
- Ladle into soup bowls and top with parsley, Parmesan and a drizzle of Parmesan if desired.
Notes
You can substitute ground turkey or ground beef for the chicken if you prefer.
Make sure to check the cooking time on the box or bag of pasta you’re using, and add or subtract cook time as necessary. This recipe is based on pasta that requires 8 to 9 minutes of cook time.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Oven Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 141
- Fat: 4
- Saturated Fat: 1 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 10 grams