italian wedding alphabet soup
Message in a bottle? More like message in a noodle.
Ingredients
Italian "meatballs"
- 1 can chickpeas, drained
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 large egg, lightly whisked
- 1/3 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
wedding soup
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 cup carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 parmesan rinds
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup alphabet pasta, dry
- 2 cups shredded kale or baby spinach
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- crusty bread and fresh parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the ingredients for the Italian meatballs. Pulse until a coarse but cohesive dough emerges. Do not overmix else the batter will get soggy and difficult to form.
- Rub your hands with olive oil and roll 1-inch meatballs out of the batter. You will get around 20-22 balls. You will need to rinse your hands and coat with more oil as you go to prevent sticky balls.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium. Brown the meatballs (in batches as needed if your pan isn't big enough) for 8-10 minutes, turning every 60 seconds or so. Move the balls to a plate.
- Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium. Saute the onions, carrot, and celery until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning for another minute or so until fragrant.
- Pour in the broth, parmesan rind, and alphabet pasta. Bring to a simmer and cook 10-12 minutes until the pasta is tender. Toss in the kale or spinach and lemon juice. Stir until the kale wilts, then add the meatballs and heat until warm. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve a big piping hot bowl with a knob of crusty bread and fresh parmesan, as desired.
Notes
*To store: If you plan on leftovers, do not add all of the meatballs to the pot of soup during step 5. Instead, add balls to individual bowls and store leftovers separately from the soup. When ready to eat, add as desired. The cooked meatballs will keep up to 5 days as well!