A Muse in My Kitchen
Wedding Soup
The term “wedding soup” is a mistranslation of the Italian language, minestra maritata (“married soup”), which is a reference to the fact that green vegetables and meat go well together.
I have had the best intentions of following a recipe I found on the Food Network Magazine.
Then the recipe started taking a path of its own, so I followed along until I came up with this delicious soup.
Wedding Soup.
My first mistake was trying to follow a recipe on my Nook.
I absolutely love my Nook! It’s my third favorite possession with my Mac and Nikon running in the top two.
However, following a recipe from a Nook is a bit of challenge as it goes to sleep every 3 minutes…
Then I would have to use my greasy, floury fingers to slide it back into life.
It was annoying so I let go…
The original recipe was only calling for 3 cups of chicken stock. Seriously? That would not make it in our house!
So I doubled it…
Well…maybe tripled it and added chicken…
And more carrots…
And Acini Di Pepe pasta instead of orzo (although orzo would work just fine!)…
What you get is a delicious, flavorful soup with tasty little meatballs!
Make sure you include the Parmesan rind in the broth – it adds much to the flavor.
So from my Nook…
Through my kitchen…
To you…
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 5 carrots, finely chopped
- ½ lb. chicken breast or tenders
- 4 cloves of minced garlic
- 4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
- 6-8 cups fat free chicken broth (depending on how ‘brothy’ you like your soup)
- 1 Parmesan cheese rind
- 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan plus more for topping
- 1 lb. ground pork (ground turkey would work too)
- 6 tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup small dry pasta (I prefer Acini Di Pepe – orzo would work too)
- Baby spinach leaves
- Poach chicken in water until cooked.
- Remove from water and shred into small pieces. Set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat.
- Add onions, garlic and carrots, stirring until slightly soft (about 4 minutes).
- Add 2 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp. chopped sage.
- Cook 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth, shredded chicken and Parmesan rind and bring to a boil.
- Cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer until veggies are tender (about 7 minutes).
- Mix the pork, breadcrumbs, 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and sage in a bowl.
- Form into 1 inch meatballs.
- Increase the heat on the soup to medium high and bring soup to a boil.
- Stir in the pasta and drop meatballs into the broth.
- Cook until meatballs until they float to the top (about 4 minutes).
- Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with baby spinach leaves and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.
