Hearty Italian Wedding Soup

Brrrr - it's getting cold around here.  I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, finished up all the leftovers, and is ready to start cooking again.  The outside temperature has plummeted and there are few meals better at fighting off a chill than a big bowl of heart-warming soup.  One of our family's favorite is Italian Wedding Soup.  I start by making homemade chicken stock, then I add lots of delicious goodies like incredibly flavorful bite-size turkey meatballs, sauteed vegetables, fresh spinach, and teeny tiny little pasta shapes.  Mmmm - it's so good.

This recipe requires a lot of prep, but it's worth it.  I like to make it on the weekend when I have time to chop veggies and roll mini meatballs to the likes of Beethoven or Bach.

Rather than add the precooked pasta directly to the soup pot, add it to the individual soup bowls just before serving so it doesn't overcook and get mushy.  Also, if you love this soup as much as I think you will, do yourself a favor and make a double batch of everything so you can have a freezer meal ready to go.  Just freeze separately the chicken stock, precooked meatballs, and precooked pasta that has been tossed with a little olive oil.  When you need a quick meal, just heat everything up and add sauteed carrots, celery, and chopped fresh spinach.  

ButterYum's Hearty Italian Wedding Soup

serves 10

Printable Recipes

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup finely minced onions

• 1 clove finely minced garlic

• pinch of salt

• 1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey

• 3 tablespoons Italian-seasoned bread crumbs

• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2 eggs, beaten

Soup:

• 8 cups homemade chicken stock

• 4 carrots, diced

• 4 stalks celery, diced

• 5 ounces fresh spinach, tough stems removed and leaves roughly chopped

• 1/2 pound acini di pepe pasta, cooked (or other teeny pasta shape like stars, orzo, etc)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Garnish - sliced scallions, chopped parsley, grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Directions

For the pasta:

1. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente (a few minutes shy of package directions).

2. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.

3. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and stir to coat; set aside until needed.

For the meatballs:

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onions and a pinch of salt in olive oil until golden brown; stirring frequently.

2. Add minced garlic and stir constantly until very fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.

3. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit before adding to the remaining meatball ingredients; mix well.

4. Preheat oven to 350F.

5. Form meat mixture into 80 1-inch meatballs (I use this #100 scoop) and place on greased or lined sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool (no tasting at this point - they're not quite cooked through yet).

To make the soup base:

1. In a large stock pot, bring chicken stock to a gentle boil and add carrots, celery, and partially baked meatballs; cook for 10-15 minutes until carrots soften.

2. Add chopped spinach and cook an additional 5 minutes.

To serve:

1. Keep pasta and soup separate until serving so the pasta doesn't get mushy.

2. Place about 1/4 cup cooked pasta in a bowl and top with a hearty ladle or two of soup (8 meatballs per serving).

3. Garnish with sliced scallions, chopped parsley, and/or grated Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired.

Note

• Make a double batch and freeze some for a meal later. Simply freeze separately the chicken stock, precooked meatballs, and precooked pasta drizzled with olive oil. When you need a quick meal, just heat everything up, add sauteed carrots and celery, and chopped fresh spinach. Sometimes I replace the pasta with cooked wheat berries or quinoa.

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Homemade Gnocchi Tutorial

One of my daughters recently discovered a love of gnocchi so I thought it would be a great opportunity to get her in the kitchen and teach her how to make them from scratch.  We had a really fun time and managed to capture a few photos along the way.  Enjoy!

I start with hot baked potatoes that are passed through a food mill or potato ricer (skins removed). The riced potatoes are allowed to cool and dry out a bit. Then eggs, salt, and flour are added until a dough forms.

The dough is kneaded a few times, then take a hunk of dough and roll it into a snake that’s 3/4-inch thick.

The dough is then cut into 1-inch wide bits. You can cook the pieces as is, but it’s more fun to do the following:

Using the back side of a fork, roll each dough bit over the fork tines, or you can use a wooden gnocchi board.

Stop rolling when you get to this point, then let the gnocchi fall to the counter. The finished gnocchi will have rides on one side and the other side will have a depression from your finger.

This is the back side. The gnocchi puff up a bit when they’re cooked so the depression won’t stay that big.

Place the gnocchi in a single layer on a floured sheet pan and repeat the process until you’ve used up all the dough. The gnocchi are now ready to be cooked.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

The gnocchi cook for a short time, maybe 3 minutes - they’re done when they float to the top of the water.

You can see that they’ve puffed up a bit. Serve them with your favorite pasta sauce, pesto, or brown butter and sage sauce.

Item’s used to make this recipe:

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• food mill https://amzn.to/2E5QdDv

• potato ricer https://amzn.to/2HhOQUm

• gnocchi board https://amzn.to/2Vy7PT5

• spider https://amzn.to/2Q2EvhS

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Homemade Gnocchi

Printable Recipe

serves 2 to 3 as a main dish, or 4 to 6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 2 pounds baked Russet potatoes, skins removed and potato flesh passed through a food mill or potato ricer

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 teaspoon salt

• at least 4 ounces of all-purpose flour (more may be needed

Directions

1. Remove hot skins from freshly baked potatoes and pass through a or potato ricer; spread riced potatoes in a single layer on a sheet tray and allow to cool.

2. Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil.

3. Combine cooled potatoes, beaten egg, salt, and enough flour to form a dough that just holds together when you squeeze some in the palm of your hand.

4. Knead dough on a flowered surface for about a minute.

5. Cut off a enough dough to roll into a 10-12 inch long snake that is 3/4-inch thick.

6. Using a knife or pastry scraper, cut the snake into 1-inch wide bits.

7. Form each gnocchi by rolling the 1-inch bits over the tines of a fork or gnocchi board and place them on a flour dusted half sheet pan. The gnocchi can be cooked in boiling water right away.

8. Boil them for 1-3 minutes - the gnocchi are done cooking when they float to the surface of the water.

9. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon or wire spider.

Brown Butter and Sage Sauce

Printable Recipe

makes enough sauce for one whole batch of gnocchi above

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 4-8 fresh sage leaves, chopped fine

• 1 shallot, finely minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• a few grates of fresh nutmeg

Directions

1. In a small saucepan or frying pan, gently melt the butter and add shallots, nutmeg, and sage.

2. Heat until butter solids turn brown and smell nutty.

3. Remove from heat - add salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pour over cooked gnocchi.

recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

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