Italian Wedding Soup
Italian wedding soup is one of my all time favorite soups; it’s one of those simple soups that is hearty without being too filling and is also a low or in this case no carbohydrate alternative to other soups like chicken noodle. This soup is one of the easiest I have made in a while, the ingredients are very simple, and it takes under an hour to make. The recipe I decided to use was one from Giada De Laurentiis from The Food Network, and it came out so delicious that I am sure I will be making it again soon.
Since the recipe makes eight servings and I was cooking for two, we ended up eating the soup over a two day period and I would say that the soup only gets better the next day as the meatballs have a chance to soak in the broth a little more, making them even more flavorful then before. Also good to note is that this is a great soup to make for non-veggie lovers. Although the recipe calls for a pound of curly endives, once simmered in the broth with the meatballs, the endives are so mild and mixed with the ribbons of egg, it will have everyone coming back for a second serving.
Ingredients:
What you will need...
Meatballs:
1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 large egg
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground pork
Freshly ground black pepper
Soup:
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
1-Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl
2-Add parmesan cheese, beef and pork, mix thoroughly
3-Using a teaspoon or regular spoon, shape the meat mixture into meatballs-each about 1 inch in diameter and place on plate or baking sheet.
4-Add 12 Cups Chicken Broth to pot and bring to boil over medium heat
5-Add meatballs and chopped, curly endive
6-Simmer over medium heat for about 8 minutes until meatballs are fully cooked and the endive is tender.
7-whisk 2 large eggs and parmesan cheese in a bowl
8-Stir the soup in a circular motion and gradually drizzle egg mixture into swirling broth and stir with fork to make thin strands of egg for about 1 minute
9-Season with salt and pepper
10-Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top to finish
11-ENJOY!
