He gave me a “come on” look (you know the c’mon look) and said, “We’ve been married almost 15 years and you still can’t identify an Imperial Star Destroyer??” He asked this in the way I might respond if he forgot one of our children’s middle names. I have to ask you, are you one of those people who has a pretty bookshelf? I feel like there are two kinds of people in this world: those who have beautiful bookshelves, adorned with vases and random clay pots (and balls in a bowl made out of twigs? you know what I’m talking about??) And then there is the other kind of person, the kind who lets her husband keep every random Essential Weapons & Armament Guide and then suddenly has stacks upon stacks of colorful, paperback, non-classic-y looking books shoved in this way and that. Not a twiggy-ball in sight. I didn’t choose the tacky life, the tacky life chose me.
Wedding Soup Recipe Variations
I love this soup just the way it is, but try these variations to make it your own. This soup is a labor of love, I’m not gonna lie. (People used to make it over the course of 3 days, way back when). First you make the meatballs, then you fry them, and then you make the soup; lots of chopping, lots of ingredients. You will save a lot of time if you use store bought meatballs, and I get it, sometimes you just have to git er done. I like the Italian meatballs from Costco, they taste pretty good and are a decent price. It will cut your time spent on this soup in half. Okay okay, but I swear, if you can’t make the meatballs homemade, you can still get an amazing soup with this recipe. The depth of flavor comes from using both chicken and a little bit of beef broth. I’ve never thought to combine broths before, but it’s kind of an amazing idea. This soup is meant to have a light flavored (and colored) broth for the meatballs to float around in, but the added beef broth kicks up the beefy flavor a notch. To best mimic the spirit of this traditional poor-man’s soup, we’re making meatballs with ground beef AND ground pork (or Italian sausage), giving a nod to the soup’s multi-meat heritage. Plus some classic Italian ingredients like onion, garlic, and Parmesan to give them depth of flavor. The base of the soup is still its rich broth. Instead of boiling bones for 3 days, we’re going to do our best to recreate the deliciousness of the original by using both beef AND chicken broth. There is always pasta in Italian Wedding Soup. The traditional pasta is the teeny-tiny acini di pepe (which literally translates to “seeds of pepper” because of how similar in size and shape it is to peppercorns. How cute is that, right?) I couldn’t find any at multiple stores, but you can just use any really small pasta you can find. I went with Fregola, but I almost bought alphabet pasta! Orecchiette or tiny shells would work. After making the broth, add in the meatballs, pasta, and finally, add your greens. Back in the day in Italy they would literally walk around outside and grab whatever was growing on the hillside: dandelion greens, escarole, chicory, etc. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any chicory or escarole in my yard. But a combo of spinach and kale gives just the right touch of green. Escarole is a great choice because it’s a little spicy, so if you are into that give it a try! (again, I couldn’t find any escarole at the store. What gives, supply chains??)
Shred your carrots! Sure, you can chop them, but shredded carrot texture is amazing. Make it in the crockpot. Nothing better than filling your home with the aroma of soup cooking all day! See the recipe card for complete instructions on how to do it. Adjust kale and spinach to your preferences. I call for both, but you can choose just one or the other, or add more or less of each one as you like.
Tips for this Recipe for Italian Wedding Soup
Here are my favorite tips for taking this soup from yum to OMG.
Cut the onions super, super tiny. Don’t ruin those delicate little meatballs by putting gigantic chunks of onion in them! Chop the onions very finely so that they melt right into the meatball. All of the flavor, none of the texture. Use your hands to roll the meatballs. I know you might not want to, but a cookie scoop alone isn’t going to make these babies hold together. If you’re squeamish, get disposable gloves. You need to roll them firmly between your palms. If the pot smells scorched, wash it. Black on the bottom of your pot? No problem. A scorched or burned smell? Stop cooking, let the pan cool a little, and wash it before proceeding with more oil and the rest of the meatballs. You don’t want burned tasting meatballs! Planning for leftovers? Boil the pasta separately. You can drain it and add a little scoop to each bowl of soup. Otherwise, as the leftovers sit, the pasta will absorb the broth of the soup, and you’ll end up with mushy pasta and brothless soup.
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The Best Garlic Bread of Your Life « worthy of its name, and the perfect addition to dunk in this soup Quick and Easy French Bread Recipe « done in one hour, and perfectly dippable Garlic and Rosemary Skillet Bread would be amazing with this soup. Crispy perfect edges. Olive Garden Breadsticks « these copycat breadsticks are where it’s at Green Salad with Feta and Beets « the fanciest no chop salad, and perfectly light to accompany a hearty soup Avocado and Grapefruit Salad « if you’re looking for a side salad that isn’t the same old, same old Strawberry Cucumber Salad « a total show stopper Easy Roasted Broccoli « if you need more veggies in your life, these are AMAZING Oven Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter « Perfect balsamic flavor to go with the Italian Wedding Soup Balsamic Brussels Sprouts from The Adventure Bite Rustic Crusty Italian Bread from Ciao Florentina
To reheat, I like to heat the soup in a small pot on the stove, only reheating the number of serving that will be eaten at that time. You can of course also use a microwave. I like to stir every thirty seconds or so (to avoid hot spots) until the soup is nice and hot. If you know ahead of time you are going to be freezing your soup, leave out the acini di pepe (or whatever pasta you are using) and add it when you serve it the second time. Cook the pasta separately in boiling water for 8-10 minutes.
