Italian Wedding Soup

Although in a recent post I complained about how quickly the summer was passing by, even I cannot deny that soup season is right around the corner. One of my favorite soups lately has been this Italian Wedding Soup that is inspired by a friend’s recipe. It is insanely easy to make, and absolutely delicious.

Ingredients for the Italian Wedding Soup

• 1 lbs ground chicken (this one is my favorite)
• 3/4 c. grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided into 1/4 c. and 1/2 c. portions; plus more for sprinkling
• 1/2 c. Italian-flavored breadcrumbs
• 2 heaping tbs. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 12 c. chicken stock or broth
• 2 c. cooked orzo pasta (Or, you can use whatever pasta you like! Most people use Acini de Pepe, but I just prefer orzo.)
• 2 c. fresh spinach

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400° and grease a baking sheet. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, 1/4 c. Pecorino Romano cheese, the bread crumbs, the parsley, and the black pepper. Combine the ingredients until completely incorporated. Roll out small meatballs and place on the baking sheet. (Okay, for reference I made 26 meatballs with these ingredients.) After the meatballs are lined on the baking sheet, drizzle 2 tbs olive oil over them and bake for 15 minutes.

While the meatballs are baking, heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots, onions, and celery. Sauté the vegetables until the onions are translucent and everything is very aromatic. Add the chicken stock or broth and bring to a boil. Once the meatballs are out of the oven, place them in the boiling water. Lower the soup to a simmer for 45 minutes.

Add the cooked orzo in after the 45 minutes have passed, and stir in the fresh spinach. (Most recipes I see online cook the pasta in the soup broth. You can totally do that, but I find that cooking the pasta in the broth dries the soup up.)

Once the spinach is wilted, the soup is done! Sprinkle some additional Pecorino Romano over the top and enjoy!

I know I mentioned this earlier, but this Italian Wedding Soup is really incredibly easy and even more delicious. It’s just so comforting.