Italian Wedding Soup
Are you resolution makers? I am but I’m not someone who needs January to do it. I’m constantly making lists – either in notebooks or just in my scattered mind – of things I’m going to do or do better. So while it seems cool these days to deny new year’s resolutions, I’m in heaven! I won’t bore you with my long list but of course food is on it.
Like most people I indulged freely over the holidays and now have to face to harsh truth that chocolates can’t be breakfast any more. I’m craving soup to compensate for all my sins. Now if my family would just cooperate. I think I’ve kvetched about this before but none of them like soup. Think they like soup. Because I refuse to accept that you can just write off a whole category of food by saying, “I don’t really like soup.” I made this French Onion Soup yesterday and was politely informed by Esme that “It’s not your best dinner, Mum. It’s okay, but it’s not your best.” Deep cleansing breaths. So. My resolution is to win over my household of soup naysayers. And I’m going to start with this beauty, the Italian Wedding Soup. It’s a really satisfying, healthy but not too heavy soup that would be great for lunch or dinner. I decided to bake rather than fry the meatballs to keep it as light as possible and I’ve kept them quite small so they’ll fit easily on a child’s spoon. Let us know what your food/cooking resolutions are for this year – we love hearing from you!
photos by Maya Visnyei
Ingredients
- Meatballs
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- 3 Tbsp breadcrumbs or panko
- 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan
- 1 clove garlic
- Soup
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 head of spinach, washed and chopped into ribbons
- 2 carrots chopped into 1/4 inch disks
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 Parmesan cheese rind
- 3/4 cup orzo
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix the meatball ingredients together very well
Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls. Try your best to keep them uniform.
Place the meatballs on a baking sheet. You'll have about 16 of them.
Pop them in a hot oven for 10 minutes
While they cook, in a large pot, warm up the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the onion and carrots and allow them to soften for about 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and rosemary and stir, cook for another minute.
Add broth and the rind of Parmesan. If you don't have a rind hanging around the back of your fridge then just cut one off of a bigger piece.
Simmer for 7 minutes.
Add the orzo and continue to simmer for another 6 minutes.
Add the cooked meatballs to the soup and allow that to simmer for 4 minutes.
Add your spinach and stir, allowing the spinach to wilt for a minute.
Serve with another little snow fall of grated Parmesan. Yum!
Originally posted on January 3, 2013
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We're Ceri and Laura, a couple of magazine-editors-turned-food-bloggers. Also, we're mothers obsessed with delicious, healthy, family food. We're constantly thinking of ways to make your time (and our own!) in the kitchen easier and more productive, but still nostalgic for the days when dinner was cereal eaten over the kitchen sink.
14 Comments
Amy B
January 03, 10:17I can relate! I like soup, especially hearty soups like this one, but my family greets a bowl of soup with a whimper. Frustrating.
Of course, I think your soup looks DELICIOUS!!
Ceri Marsh
January 03, 12:08Well, thank you! Maybe we should have lunch together rather than with our families… I asked them all last night if they could make it a New Year’s resolution to just TRY to like soup a bit more and they’ve agreed. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes!
Sandra
January 07, 23:45We are a soup family. Made this recipe for dinner tonight. It is AMAZING! I classify it as a DREAMY soup – after enjoying it in a meal you dream of the next time you can enjoy it.
Ceri Marsh
January 08, 10:41Wow! Sandra, your comment has absolutely made my day!! And I’m only a little bit jealous of your soup family… I wish mine was. I’m so glad your gang loved this one. Thanks for reading!!
Saturday Morning Roundup - Healthy Lunches! - I Wash You Dry
January 12, 07:00[…] on a total soup kick right now, and any brothy soup has got healthy written all over it. This Italian Wedding Soup from Sweet Potato Chronicles looks like just what I need to feed my lunch/soup […]
Nelly
January 31, 21:15I used ground beef and added fresh oregano to the meatballs as well as to the broth but otherwise followed the recipe. Both my children put the empty bowls to their mouths to drink the very last drop of broth and my husband asked if I could make this soup every day.
Roundup: Soup Week - Sweet Potato Chronicles
February 13, 07:02[…] Italian Wedding Soup is really delicious and your kids will love the mini meatballs! […]
Jan b
January 12, 15:44I hate to cook. My 10 yr old daughter has always loved it and I have always encouraged her….even when she was younger and it took three times as long to cook with her. Ugh…it was painstaking at times! The invested time has paid off immensely. She is pretty self sufficient with just about everything in the kitchen. I just watch and supervise heating appliances and knives…but she is really capable with these as well. I actually enjoy cooking now. Watching her enthusiasm, capabilities, and pride in her dishes has really inspired me….plus she is just fun. I bought your cookbook for her birthday in September and now I can’t live without it. Since I started cooking from it I have more energy, don’t hit the wall at 3 pm, and can actually accomplish tons of things after work! I find the ingredients easy to find….at just about any grocery store or the Bulk Barn….even stuff I had never heard of….chia and spelt flour…..and almost all of the recipes are quick and even easy for me to make…which as a non cook is saying something. My husband is super fussy….eats around 12 different dinners….and even he has enjoyed quite a few new things from your cookbook and website!
I made the Italian wedding soup (which my husband proclaimed “rocked”), Chili Mac, and Wagamama cookies this weekend. All were fast, easy, and gobbled up. I have made your breakfast cookies and funky monkey shake numerous times….killer yummy. When I first gave these to my 13yr old son for breakfast he looked at me like I’d lost my mind (cookies and shake for breakfast)…I wish you could have seen his face when I said he could have more of each….it was priceless! Egg bakes are popular too….got a request for them yesterday so was making those too…my kids call them Egg in a Nest…..got them helping out making them. I have made so many of your recipes and only two were not too successfull….could be the cook though, not necessarily the recipe.
Sweet potatoe French toast, pumpkin granola, nizzarda salad, kitchen sink granola bars, zucchini bread (to die for), orange chocolate mini muffins, whole grain blueberry muffins (I used blackberries and cut them in half because They were so big and I did not have blueberries), applewich, ABC Quesadilla, lemon linguini (my kids made entirely on their own one weekend), OMG chicken parm,crunchy baked fish (kids LOVE this with catfish….and way better than my fried version), blackberry apple crostata, are just a few of our favourite recipes.
I am dying to try so many more…..sweet potatoe latkes, Rosemary Dijon rack of lamb, salmon dinner salad, salmon cakes, cannelloni and toaster tarts (next free weekend with more time)…..oh….my list is too long. I hope I haven’t bored all of you, but I have never posted anything before and I just can’t say enough about your cookbook and website. It is great supporting a Canadian cookbook….congrats!
Laura Keogh
January 15, 10:59Hi Jan! Wow! Thank you so much for your amazing note!
I totally understand how watching your daughter in the kitchen inspires you. I love being in the kitchen with Scarlett. We have so much fun and I’m getting closer to your stage when all I need to do is be her loyal assistant. I’m so thrilled that you are having such a great experience cooking your way through our book. I’m also happy that you found all the ingredients and were willing to give them a try. I love the story about your son’s face when you said he could have another cookie for breakfast and more shake. Priceless. It’s exactly what we had hoped for when sharing our recipes with kids. Thank you for sharing that story. I love it!
I too love the sweet potato French toast (could it eat every morning) and love your idea to use blackberries in the blueberry muffin recipe. I’m going to try your trick. Ok, you have to try the Rosemary Dijon rack of lamb when you feel like something fancy. It’s super yum. You also won’t regret making the toaster tarts or the cannelloni. If you try them, and have time, circle back here and drop us another line. I’d be excited to hear your feedback. Also, please always feel free to let us know what hasn’t worked out for you. We welcome all feedback and always want to help or do better for our readers.
I can’t tell you the satisfaction your letter has given to me. I feel so happy and proud that we have helped you and your family and that you’re enjoying our dishes. It’s a really AWESOME feeling. I know how busy parents are so I especially appreciate you taking the time to write this note. It means a lot for you to share your experience with our book and recipes with us. I hope you stay in touch and thank you for making my day!
Best, Laura
Jan
January 26, 18:54I Made a double batch of this this weekend…..again…oh so delicious and everyone in my family loves it. Froze a portion of it….not sure how this will be with orzo noddles. The leftovers are going in thermoses for lunches Monday….yeah! I hate making lunches.
Ceri
January 26, 19:51Yey! I love this soup – you’ve inspired me to bust it out again this week. It should be fine after you freeze it. When you heat it up again, you might just need to add a bit of extra water or stock as the orzo will drink up the liquid. And I’m with you – leftovers for lunches are the best!
Easy Italian Recipes
March 04, 10:01Hi! Your Italian wedding soup has been nominated as one of the “Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipes on the Net”. To vote for it, please visit http://easyitalianrecipes.org/soup-recipes/best-italian-wedding-soup-recipes-on-the-net-vote-for-your-favorite/ (your recipe is positioned at #28).
heheher
April 05, 15:22yahoo. i KNEW there was a recipe out there that used parmesan rind . ( but was i supposed to take it out as some point ? my daughter got a big cheesy lump in her bowl)
this soup turned out so well, nobody seemed to notice they were eating soup.
thank you
Ceri
April 13, 12:27Hi Heather! Sorry for the slow reply. Yes, you should probably fish out the rind. But it sounds like your daughter did that for you – oops! Thrilled to hear your gang liked it.