It’s almost National Soup Month, this Italian Wedding Soup will become your favorite

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP The name would suggest that the only time you should serve this delicious soup is at an Italian Wedding. In fact, the wedding is between the vegetables and meat that combine deliciously during a slow simmer making this a tasty and hearty soup.

Although most recipes use parmesan cheese in it, I made this recipe dairy-free, and seasoned with nutritional yeast.

Italian Wedding Soup, dairy-free

Servings: 8-10
Time: 3-4 hours
Difficulty: easy
Print

Miniature meatballs and vegetables combined in a slow-simmered soup with small round pastina create a warm comfort food that is great for those chilly Winter dinners.

recipe by: Gourmetmarichef

Ingredients

Meatballs

1½ lb. package of ground beef/veal/pork, usually called meatloaf mix
2 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
1 tsp. oregano
1 egg
¼ c. bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. olive oil

Soup

8 c. homemade Chicken Bone Soup or packaged low-sodium chicken broth
1 small diced onion
3 washed, peeled and chopped carrots
3 washed, peeled and chopped celery stalks
3 cloves finely chopped garlic
5 oz. package of washed fresh spinach (Chopped kale or escarole can be substituted)
1 c. acini de pepe or small pastina

Directions

Place the ground meat in a large bowl and mix altogether with the egg, spices, herbs, seasonings, and breadcrumbs.
Shape the seasoned meat into small ½ inch meatballs.
Over low heat, put on a large soup pot and place the olive oil in the bottom to heat up. Gently transfer the mini-meatballs into the pot and brown for a few minutes, turning on all sides.
Remove the meatballs from the heat and place on the side. In the same pot, add in the carrots, onions, and celery and sauté until the vegetables are soft. Add in the garlic and sauté another minute, then pour in the broth.
Season the soup with salt and pepper, cover, and cook the soup over low heat for 2 hours.
Add in the pastina and spinach and cook for another 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the soup with nutritional yeast if you want to give the soup a cheesy flavor. Serve with warmed Italian or French bread. Top with hot pepper flakes for some heat.
Place the leftovers in a air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.