Description
A warm and comforting bowl of classic Italian Wedding Soup that is healthy, filling and features a secret ingredient for the best tasting broth possible!
Ingredients
Scale
For the Soup
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 1 large carrot (diced)
- 2 small stalks of celery (diced)
- 2 cups kale or spinach (roughly chopped)
- 8 cups of home made or store bought chicken stock
- 1 rind from Parmesan cheese
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup orzo or any other small pasta
- 1 tbsp Better than Bouillion (start with 1 tablespoon)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- juice of half a lemon
- Parmesan cheese as much as desired
For the Meatballs
- 1.5 pounds ground chicken
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/4 cup milk (2%, whole, skim, all is fine)
- 3 tablespoons freshly parsley (finely chopped)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First we start out with a glob of olive oil in a nice, large pot (6 quart will do). Heat up your pot to medium heat. Turn on your oven and heat up to 450-degrees.
- Grab a large onion, peel it, cut it in half, cut slices into it vertically then cut slices horizontally and dice it up.
- Add the onions to your pot with the olive oil and cover with lid, you want them to sweat in their little olive oil sweat lodge. You do not want any color on them.
- Go ahead and dice up the carrots and celery. Toss in with the onions and continue to sweat covered for 5-10 minutes.
- Combine ground chicken, Parmesan cheese, parsley, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl. Combine mixture with your hands until just mixed, do not over mix or you will end up having dense meat balls.
- Prepare a sheet pan by spraying it with pan spray and THEN putting parchment on top. Create a huge “X” on the sheet from one corner to the next. This is a great trick to get your paper to stick onto the sheet pan.
- Use a tablespoon, melon baller, or small ice cream scoop to shape the meatballs. Do not make them too smooth, the rigid edges will allow for better browning in the oven.
- Place meatballs into the oven and let cook for 10 minutes.
- Back to the soup. Open the lid and add in your secret ingredient, the Parmesan rind. You will notice, I do this with a lot of my Italian inspired soups. I find it adds a salty background to the soup without overpowering it.
- After the soup has simmered for 15-20 minutes, add in your meatballs and let cook for another 15-20 minutes on a nice simmer.
- Add in orzo and stir to combine. Let simmer until orzo is al dente.
- In the meantime, cut up your kale or spinach roughly and rinse it.
- Add in the Better Than Bouillion a little bit at a time with it until you get your desired flavor start with 1 tablespoon..
- Find that melty Parmesan rind and remove it. That’s it. Let the soup come together, adjust for seasoning and finish it off with a squirt or two of lemon. I always feel that it adds a pop of freshness. And of course shred in some Parmesan as a nice topping 🙂
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Italian