Italina Wedding Soup

[magnabay]

I have never made this and was wondering if any of you have and what is your thoughts on it. I looked at the recipe and it looks delicious. Do you have a favorite recipe for this

[Deleted]

I never made it but I love it! maybe toh has one.

[nybirder]

This recipe was given to me years ago by an elderly friend who was a wonderful Italian cook. Marie recently passed away at the age of 102 so I can guarantee this is pretty traditional. Marie never called it wedding soup but it was Italian, had meatballs, escarole, and pasta which is pretty much what they serve here in central NY. Sometimes it’s just called Meatball and Escarole Soup.

She served it with slices of crusty toasted garlic bread with mozzarella cheese melted on top and a side salad. For the small amount of escarole needed, I sometimes use sturdy greens from a bagged Italian salad mix—you want bitter greens, not spinach. Spinach gets too limp and the texture isn’t as nice. So I use a mix with escarole, endive, radiccio, etc. The last time I made it, I even used baby kale instead of escarole. You can use different pasta cuts--either soup cut, pastina, or even orzo.

She used veal broth that she made herself. She said a good substitute was half chicken and half beef broth. I have also been known to add a little bit of garlic powder to the meatballs when the spirit moves me.

Marie’s Italian Soup with Tiny Meatballs
Servings: 4

1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 slices stale bread
1 egg
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 cups (4 cans or 2 large containers) of low sodium chicken or beef broth, or a combination of both
4 oz. soup-cut pasta, pastina or orzo will work, or even spaghetti broken into 2” pieces
6 oz. sliced or chopped escarole (or more if you really like it)

MEATBALLS: Soak bread in water 5 minutes, squeeze dry. Crumble into meat, add other ingredients, and mix thoroughly with hands. Shape into tiny balls 1 teaspoon at a time.

SOUP: Bring broth to a full boil. Add meatballs a few at a time so that soup doesn't stop boiling. Turn heat down. Simmer 10 minutes. Add pasta and escarole. Simmer 5 minutes longer.

LEFTOVERS: The soup gets very thick as it stands—almost like a stew—if the pasta is in it. Add more broth or a little water to thin. Or if you expect leftovers, remove part of the soup before putting in the pasta. If you plan to freeze leftovers for later, divide it before adding the pasta. Add the pasta when reheating the soup along with a little extra water or broth if needed.

[SunshineFL10a]

My Dad's favorite. The only soup I make for him.
I use Wegmans easy recipe. I use premade cocktail meatballs and split them in half.

www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=857955

[magnabay]

Thank you for your responses. I have printed both recipes and plan on making this soup in the very near future

[Deleted]

Nybirder, that sure sounds wonderful! I really want to make that. Could you sub spinach, cabbage or kale for escarole?

[nybirder]

Hmmm--I know that baby kale works because I've used it. For older kale, the ribs might be a bit tough for that cooking time but the shredded leaves should be OK. I haven't tried cabbage but it would probably be OK although the flavor is much milder. Spinach, however, gets kind of slimy when cooked in soup. Part of the reason for using escarole is that it is sturdier than some other greens and a little bit bitter so you get some texture. I guess you'll just have to try it and see.

[magnabay]

I made it with spinach and DH and I both enjoyed it very much. Like nybirder said, You'll have to try it and see.

[Deleted]

Its good to know you have variations of it.

[Deleted]

Its good to know you have variations of it.

[Deleted]

Oops! Sorry for the duplicate post!