Do you have a good recipe for Italian Wedding Soup?!

I have the recipe for Italian Wedding Soup (aka escarole soup) that my husband's grandmother gave to her children. Whenever we have a special family meal, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, this soup is served as the first course. Everyone loves it, and we all look forward to this part of the meal. Typically Grandma would make the soup the day before, leaving out the orzo. She'd heat it up before serving and then add the orzo at the last minute. This way, the orzo wouldn't get mushy from being reheated. This is the only recipe for Italian Wedding Soup I've ever even looked at, and I haven't made it myself. I have had the pleasure of eating this soup on many occasions, so can tell you that it's really, really good! My husband's aunt gave me the recipe, which I've also passed on to my grandma. She said she was able to cut the recipe in half very easily, because as it is it serves 20. Make sure you have some good bread on hand for dunking in the soup, not to mention fresh grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top!

Italian Wedding Soup

12 cans chicken broth (low sodium) *I don't know the size of the can, but would imagine it'd be the smallish "soup can" size
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 head escarole
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb orzo pasta, cooked

Cut off end of escarole and rinse in a colander to remove any grit. Place in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil for five minutes or until limp and drain. Once the escarole is cool enough, cut it into very small pieces. Pinch small amounts of ground beef (1 tsp or less) and roll into small meatballs in the palm of your hands. Set aside. In a large stockpot, combine all ingredients except meatballs and orzo. Bring to a boil. Add meatballs and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer for a few hours. Just before serving, add orzo. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with bread and grated parmesan cheese.

As a side note, I would imagine you could simplify things by simply cooking the orzo in the soup, instead of cooking it in another pot and then adding it to the soup.

For storing, I'd only keep the soup in the fridge for a few days at most. However, I have issues about leftovers and am paranoid about food poisonings. I know other people would be perfectly comfortable with keeping leftover soup for longer! If you want to freeze it, I'd suggest not adding the pasta until you reheat the soup. Thaw it out, bring it to a low boil, and add the orzo. Orzo is small and cooks in about 7 or 8 minutes. This will just keep the orzo from getting too soft. In really good soup, the pasta will be al dente and not mushy.

I hope you enjoy it! I like the homemade soup better than canned because it's typically less salty and the pasta and veggies don't get too mushy. I remember a few years ago everyone at Christmas dinner talking about how you could buy this soup in a can at the store, but that it had been "renamed" Italian Wedding Soup. My husband's family had always called it escarole soup, but I guess that didn't sound appealing enough for mass consumption!

Italian Wedding Soup

3 or 4 cans of chicken broth
1/3 cup orzo or tinier pasta
Bring to boil until pasta is full-sized.
Add 1 package frozen, chopped spinach, thawed in microwave.
Add 1 bag of frozen meat balls.
(The bag weighs about a pound, and I usually use the Italian-style meatballs sold without any sauce.)
Bring back to a simmer until the batch is thoroughly heated.

I used the orzo pasta when I could not find the tinier pearls. I have also used the little alphabet pasta, and the flavor was the same.

The only difference from the soup sold in restaurants was that my meatballs were a bit larger, but that is not a complaint.
I have never frozen the soup, but it keeps fine for days in the refrigerator until it is eaten. This batch serve about 5. It is a great soup to make on the spur of the moment because all ingredients come from the shelf and the freezer. I added no other seasonings--the broth is flavorful and salty enough, and the meatballs are already seasoned, too.

Homemade chicken stock, tiny meatballs made with chicken, bread crumbs, egg, parmesan, s+p. Sliced carrots, diced celery, some acini di pepi, and spinach.

My recipe has an egg drop addition that gives it more depth. It also has chopped chicken breast along with the meatballs. Why? That's the way I was taught to make it by Rose's 90 year old Italian grandmother (that makes it authentic to me).

I've kept this in the fridge for about 8 days. I've also frozen this soup, but when I freeze it I don't add the pasta into the broth until serving time. The pasta doesn't hold up well when frozen.. This recipe makes about 12 servings.

Italian Wedding Soup
1 onion, chopped finely
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 cup carrots, chopped finely
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup celery, chopped finely
1/2 tsp each Basil, oregano
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon each garlic, onion powder
4 oz. cooked Chicken breast, diced
pinch of crushed red pepper
Olive oil
2 whole eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups fresh finely chopped spinach
Salt and pepper
6 cups Chicken stock
1/4 lb acini de pepe, orzo pasta or other soup pasta
8 oz. Ground beef
1 T minced parsley




Heat oil a bottom cover in large stock pot. Add onion, carrots, garlic, celery, and chicken to saute. Add chicken stock; simmer for 2 hrs. Combine hamburger, 1 T parsley, ? t. each basil, oregano, garlic and onion powder, pinch of crushed red pepper, ? cup Parmesan cheese. Make into tiny meatballs. Place meatballs on a greased baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes at 350F, until brown. Add meatballs and spinach to soup and simmer 15 min.



Cook pasta in separate water until al dente. Drain and refresh under cold water. Set aside. Beat eggs with ? cup Parmesan cheese, 1 T minced parsley and salt and pepper. Combine with pasta. Increase soup temperature to low boil and whisk in egg/pasta mixture. Reduce heat and let simmer a few more minutes. Adjust seasoning. Serve in bowls and garnish with shredded Parmesan.

This is an amazing recipe. My mom makes it every Sunday, and I usually go back to take seconds. My family has been using this recipe for years. And whenever people come over, they ask if they can take some home. It tastes like the real thing, because it is the real thing. You can keep this for up to 5 days, sealed, in air tight container in the fridge, and whenever you want to take some just warm it up in the microwave.

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients:

For the chicken stock:

2 pounds chicken parts
2 large onions
3 stalks celery, including leaves
3 large carrots
3 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons salt
4 - 5 peppercorns
3 whole cloves
12 cups cold water

Meatballs:

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 egg (slightly beaten)
4 tablespoons bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 heads escarole
1 1/2 cups acini de pepe (a small round pasta)
3 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 cup parmesan cheese

Procedure:

For the chicken stock:

Quarter the onions. Chop scrubbed celery and carrots into 1-inch chunks. Place chicken pieces, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, salt and cloves in large soup pot or Dutch oven.

Add COLD water. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1- 2 hours. Remove chicken and vegetables. Strain stock through cheesecloth to remove solids. Skim fat off the surface.

Meatballs:

Combine all ingredients and shape into 3/4-inch balls. Drop into boiling water and cook until they float to the top. Drain and set aside.

For the escarole:

In a large pot of boiling water, add 2 heads of escarole, which has been cleaned and chopped. Blanch for 3 minutes to remove the bitterness from the greens.

Drain. When cooled, squeeze out all extra liquid.

For the soup:

Bring stock to a boil, add chopped escarole, 1 1/2 cups acini de pepe, and 3 eggs (slightly beaten) combined with 1 cup of parmesan cheese.

Stirring continuously until the egg is fully cooked and the pasta is al dente. Add the meatballs, adjust seasoning and heat through.

Happy Cooking!