Rocco GizzoThere are some dishes that make sense the second they hit the table, and Italian Wedding Soup is one of them. This is an Italian-American favorite with tiny meatballs, greens and savory broth. It is practical enough for a weeknight without tasting like a compromise. It is exactly the kind of food I want when the weather turns cold. For me, this is the sweet spot: familiar enough to feel like comfort food, but good enough that you are already thinking about the next bite. That is the kind of cooking I want this site to be full of — approachable, full of flavor and never precious about itself. Make it, tweak it to your taste and have a little fun with it. That is the whole point.
Soups
Italian Wedding Soup
Italian Wedding Soup is cozy, satisfying and made for a big bowl, good bread and an easy night at home.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves grated
- 1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 rounded TB parsley finely chopped
- 1 tsp calabrian chili paste
- 1 tsp coriander seeds toasted and crushed
- 1 TB fennel seeds toasted and crushed
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper or 1/4 tsp whole pepper, toasted and crushed
Soup
- Olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced celery 3 medium stalks
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion 1/2 onion
- 1/2 cup diced carrots 2 large carrots
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes plus more for serving
- 8 cups of chicken stock
- 1/3 lb of fregola or other desired pasta
- 1 bunch of chard
- Handful of freshly Pecorino Romano plus more for serving (or parm rind)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a sheet tray with non-stick spray.
- In a medium bowl, mix together all the meatball ingredients until just combined. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs – you should get about 30 meatballs. Place on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.
- In a large saucepan or dutch oven, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. Add you celery, onions, and carrots and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Next, add your minced garlic cloves and red pepper flakes, and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Pour in your chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the fregola and cook for about 5 minutes, or 5 minutes less than package instructions.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the soup, and allow the soup to simmer for 5 minutes. Next, add the chard to the soup and simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until the chard is just wilted.
- Stir in the freshly grated pecorino and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle each serving with addition pecorino and crushed red pepper flakes.
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