Italian Wedding Soup

​For those of you who don't already know - I'm half Italian and I've been to my fair share of Italian weddings but to this day - I've never been served "wedding soup" at one of these matrimonial celebrations.😅  I couldn't help but wonder if my experiences were the exception, or if wedding soup really isn't served at Italian wedding receptions - so I googled it. 

Turns out - "Italian Wedding Soup, is actually an ancient Neapolitan soup called minestra maritata, which translates to 'married soup', not wedding soup. It refers to the 'marriage' of bits of inexpensive meat and leafy greens which make up the main ingredients." 🍲🤦🏻‍♀️  I guess that explains why I've never been served wedding soup at an Italian wedding. 🤷🏻‍♀️

For 52 years - I've pictured brides and grooms all over Italy sipping from giant bowls of steaming hot wedding soup following their nuptials like it was good luck.🤣 Shows what I know.  My assumptions about this delicious soup may have been shattered but that doesn't change my adoration for it.  And now that I have more realistic expectations, I won't  be disappointed when it's absent from the next Italian wedding buffet. 😅

My Italian wedding soup may look a little different from most.  You might say that it's been Amy-fied.  Chicken meatballs with chicken sausage - all the stuff I love.  I swapped out kale for spinach, loaded it up with carrots and celery and finished it off with a bright squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.  If you love wedding soup, but not red meat - you need to try my chicken version.  Even the meat lovers in the house agreed - this is delicious wedding soup. 

Italian Wedding Soup
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced thin
​2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
½ cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta
1 sprig rosemary
3 cups baby spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup shredded Parmesan

Chicken Meatballs
½ pound ground chicken
½ pound chicken sausage, casing removed
⅓ cup Panko
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried parsley
¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Combine ground chicken, chicken sausage, Panko, Parmesan, egg, oregano, basil, parsley and garlic powder in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Mix together with hands. 

Roll mixture into 1/4 inch balls. (5-6 dozen balls total.)

Heat 1 T. oil in Dutch oven. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned - about 2-3 minutes

Transfer to a paper towel lined tray to drain. 

Heat 1 T. oil in dutch oven. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook 3-4 minutes. 

Stir in thyme and cook 1 minute.  Whisk in chicken stock and bay leaves; bring to a boil.

Stir in rosemary and meatballs; reduce heat and simmer until 9-12 minutes.

Stir in acini de pepe, spinach, lemon juice and parsley and cook 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper. 

Serve with shredded parmesan. 

​Ciao!

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