Italian Wedding Soup

Jan 16, 2021

Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage bulk or removed from the casing
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons chopped chives
  • 2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

Soup

  • 1 bunch Swiss chard or spinach
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion chopped finely
  • 3 large carrots diced to 1/2-inch chunks
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup orzo pasta about 8 ounces or another small pasta

To Finish

  • Additional salt and pepper to taste
  • Grated parmesan cheese

Instructions
Make the meatballs by combining the beef, sausage, parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, chives, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Massage ingredients together with your hands until they are uniformly blended. Run your hands under water to dampen them, then roll 1-inch meatballs. The mixture should make about 40 to 50 meatballs.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large stock pot. Add half the meatballs and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all the sides of the meatball are golden brown. Don’t worry if the inside of the meatballs aren’t cooked fully. You’ll cook them further in the soup. You just want to brown the outside to give them a crust and flavor. Move the brown meatballs to a large heatproof bowl and add the additional oil to the pot and repeat with the remaining meatballs. Do not clean out the pot.
Cut the thick stems out from the chard. Slice the chard leaves thin 1-inch strips and set aside. Chop the stems into 1/2-inch pieces.
Add the olive oil the pot that you browned the meatballs. Add the chard stems, onion, carrots to the pot and cook until the carrots have softened and the onions are starting to turn transparent, about 8 minutes on medium heat.
dd the chicken stock, white wine (if using), bay leaf, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the meatballs and any juices in the bottom of the bowl to the pot. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Add the pasta and cook for the suggested time on the package. About 2 minutes before the pasta is al dente, add the chard leaves to the pot and stir in to wilt.