Recipes
Italian Wedding Soup
Published on November 15, 2023
This classic Italian dish is a home run and feels like a warm hug. It’s a perfect harmony of textures and tastes. The hearty broth, aromatic herbs, and perfectly seasoned meatballs create a winning bite. Pair it with our Invited Series Grenache for a meal that lingers in your memory.
Italian Wedding Soup
Serves: 10
Prep Time: 40 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 3/4 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
- 2/3 c. homemade bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1/2 c. freshly grated Pecorino Romano
- 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
- 1/4 c. fresh dill
- 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp. Kosher salt
- ½ tsp. Fresh ground black pepper
For the soup:
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 c. chopped carrots
- 1 c. chopped celery
- 1 c. chopped yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. fresh black pepper
- 10 c. chicken broth
- ½ beef bouillon cube (optional)
- ½ c. Sean Minor Sauvignon Blanc or Sean Minor Chardonnay
- 16 ounces fresh spinach
- Juice of half a lemon
- Sean Minor Invited Series Rossi Ranch Grenache
Homemade bread crumbs:
Use any leftover bread and cut into cubes (we like sourdough). Place in cuisinart and pulse until crumble size. Heat pan to medium and add oil or butter and crumbs and toast. Add whatever seasonings you like and stir until golden and crisp. Place aside and cool.
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- For the meatballs, place ground chicken and chicken sausage (feel free to use beef or pork), bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, dill, Pecorino, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl and combine with a fork. Do not overmix.
- Drop tablespoon size meatballs onto a cookie sheet. You should have about 40-50 meatballs. Bake for 30 minutes until cooked through and set aside.
- For your soup prep, heat oil in a large soup pot. Add carrots, celery, onions and saute until soft (approximately 5-7 minutes)
- Add chicken stock, white wine and bouillon cube and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then lower to simmer.
- Just before serving, add pasta and simmer for 6-8 minutes until the pasta is tender.
- Add the meatballs until warmed through (2 minutes)
- Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the juice of half a lemon.
- Stir in spinach and cook for 1 minute
- Ladle into soup bowl and generously add grated Parmesan cheese and parsley.
