Italain Wedding Soup

In the quest to make easy tasty soups. This soup is simple, so the flavour is really impacted by the meatballs. This recipe is taken from NOT ANOTHER COOKING SHOW, with ingredient ratios approximated here.

One trick I like to do that this recipe does is not add the pasta or noodles to the soup directly but only at plating. This prevents soggy pasta if stored in the fridge.

Ingredients and Equipment

Will need a soup pan that is at least 5 Qt.

Meat Balls

• Ground Lamb (500 g)
• Garlic (2 cloves grated)
• Salt & Black Pepper to season (1 tsp)
• Pecorino (1 cup grated)
• Parsley (½ cup chopped)
• Cream (1/3 cup)
• Bread Crumbs (½ cup)
• Egg (1 beaten)

Soup

• Carrot (2 medium diced)
• Celery (1 stock diced)
• Onion (1 diced)
• Chicken Broth (1 L)
• Swiss Chards (2 cups chopped)
• Ditali Pasta (1 cup dried)

Substitutions

• Ground Lamb -> Ground Veal/Beef/Pork/Turkey/Chicken
• Swiss Chard -> Kale/Spinach
• Pecorino -> Parmigiano Reggiano
• Ditalini -> Pearl Couscous

Method

Meat Balls

• Add cream, egg, bread crumbs, pecorino salt and pepper mix thoroughly
  • You want this to be sticky but not runny
  • Adjust here now for more cream or bread crumbs
• Add Ground Lamb and Parsely
• Mix and emulsify with your hands
• Form into 2 cm balls

Soup

• Sautee the carrots, celery and onions, until the onions are translucent
• Add stock and bring to a boil for 10 minutes
• Reduce heat to just below a simmer, add the meat balls
  • NB Hot enough to cook the meat balls, but not boiling to break them apart
• Cook until the meatballs rise to the surface
• Add the swiss chard and cook for 10 minutes

Pasta

• In a separate sauce pan cook the Ditalini as per package or until al dente
  • Ensure the water is sufficently salted
• Do not add to the soup directly, only during plating
• Serve with a garnish of pecorino and toasted bread

fin

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