Crafting The Perfect Wedding Soup: A Step-By-Step Guide

Italian wedding soup is a hearty dish that combines meatballs, vegetables, pasta, and broth. Despite its name, the soup has nothing to do with weddings. The name comes from the Italian phrase minestra maritata, which means married soup, referring to the marriage of flavours. This soup is traditionally made with a rich, long-cooked homemade chicken stock, but you can save time by using store-bought broth. The soup is best served with warm garlic bread or focaccia.

Meatballs: Combine ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, basil, and onion powder to create the meatballs

To make the meatballs for your wedding soup, you'll need to combine ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, basil, and onion powder. This mixture will form the basis of your meatballs, which will be added to the soup later.

Firstly, prepare your ingredients. Take extra-lean ground beef and combine it with a lightly beaten egg. You can use a fork to beat the egg. Next, add in your dry breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. You can use a grater to get the desired consistency. Then, add in your dried basil and onion powder.

Once you have all your ingredients in a bowl, it's time to get your hands dirty! Mash and mix the ingredients together until they are evenly combined. You can use your hands to do this. Make sure that the mixture is uniform in colour and texture.

Now, it's time to shape your meatballs. Take the mixture and roll it into small balls, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter. This size ensures they are perfect for soup. Place the meatballs on a plate or tray. You can bake or fry these meatballs, depending on your preference. If you choose to bake them, place them on a greased oven-safe rack and bake for around 15 minutes at 350°F. If you prefer to fry them, heat some oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the meatballs in batches until browned.

Your meatballs are now ready to be added to your wedding soup! Remember to only add them to the soup when the other ingredients, like the pasta and vegetables, are almost cooked. This ensures that the meatballs don't overcook and become tough.

Broth: Use chicken broth or beef broth

Broth is an essential component of wedding soup, and you can use either chicken or beef broth to create a flavoursome base for your soup. The broth will be the foundation of your soup, so it's important to choose a good-quality broth or stock.

If you're short on time, you can use store-bought broth, but if you want to make your own, it's a simple process. For chicken broth, use a whole chicken or chicken bones, and for beef broth, use beef bones. Add your chosen meat or bones to a large pot with water, and simmer for several hours to create a rich, flavourful broth. You can also add vegetables and herbs to enhance the flavour of your broth—try onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves, or parsley.

Once your broth is ready, it's time to start building your soup. In a large pot, bring your broth to a boil and add your choice of pasta. You can use orzo, acini de pepe, ditalini, or pearl couscous. These small pasta shapes will cook quickly, so keep an eye on them to avoid overcooking.

At this point, you can also add some vegetables to your soup. Sliced escarole, spinach, kale, or Swiss chard are all excellent choices that will add colour, texture, and nutrients to your dish. You can also add some diced carrots for a touch of sweetness.

Finally, it's time to add your meatballs. Wedding soup meatballs are typically made with a combination of ground beef and mild Italian sausage, but you can also use ground chicken, turkey, or veal. The key to delicious meatballs is to keep them small—about 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter.

Your wedding soup is now ready to be served! This hearty and comforting dish is perfect for a cold winter's day and can be easily adapted to your taste preferences.

Vegetables: Include escarole, spinach, kale, or endive

When it comes to vegetables, you have a few options for your wedding soup: escarole, spinach, kale, or endive. If you're going with escarole, you'll want to slice it thinly. If you're using spinach, you'll want to chop it up. If you're going with kale or endive, you'll want to chop it finely.

For the soup, you'll need around 2 cups of escarole or 4-5 cups of spinach. If you're using kale or endive, you'll need around 3 cups, as they are more bitter than the other options.

If you're using escarole, make sure to trim and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces before adding them to the soup. You can also use a combination of these greens, such as escarole and spinach, or escarole and kale.

When adding the greens to the soup, you'll want to do so towards the end of the cooking process. This will ensure that they don't overcook and become soggy. Add them to the soup around 2-3 minutes before serving, and give them a quick stir to combine.

If you want to get creative, you can also blend the greens into a puree and add them to the soup that way. This will give your wedding soup a smoother, creamier texture.

Pasta: Use orzo, acini de pepe, ditalini, or pearl couscous

Pasta is an important component of Italian wedding soup. The best pasta for this soup is a small variety such as orzo, acini de pepe, ditalini, or pearl couscous. These small pasta shapes ensure you get some in every bite of soup.

Orzo is a rice-shaped pasta that works well in Italian wedding soup. Acini de pepe is another option, which are tiny, round pasta shapes. Ditalini is a small, tube-shaped pasta that also works well. Pearl couscous is a good alternative to pasta and is more like a pasta than a grain. It is important to use pearl couscous, as regular couscous will absorb too much liquid.

When adding pasta to your Italian wedding soup, it is best to cook it separately and add it to the serving bowls. This ensures the pasta doesn't absorb all the broth during storage.

Flavour Enhancers: Try hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or mustard powder

Flavour Enhancers

To enhance the flavour of your Italian wedding soup, you can add a teaspoon each of hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard powder. These sauces add a lot of flavour to the soup without making it spicy. You can add them when you add the Italian seasoning.

For hot sauce, Frank's Hot Sauce is a good option as it won't make the soup spicy.

Frequently asked questions