Chicken Soup with Escarole, Spinach & Tiny Meatballs (wedding soup)
Many of you know this soup as the “Wedding Soup”. This soup originated from an soup made in the Calabria region called “minestra maritita” (married soup), which references the flavor, produced from the marriage of greens and meat in a soup. However, the key to this delicious soup is the rich homemade chicken broth. It takes a little bit more planning, but well worth the time. And your kitchen will smell marvelous. Of course, If you don’t have the time to do that, a good store-bought stock will do.
For many, this soup is a beautiful food memory. We always served this soup as a started during the Christmas and Thanksgiving holiday and it is great anytime of year or as thoughtful gift for anyone who needed a healing soup, as it’s melow flavors just soothe the soul and nourish the body. I hope you will make it for your family. It freezes well too.
Chicken Soup with Escarole, Spinach & tiny meatballs
Course: Soup6-8
servings30
minutes45
minutes300
kcalA heartwarming enriched chicken soup that will nourish your body and soul
Ingredients
8 cups homemade or store-bought chicken broth
1 small onion, minced
2 stalks celery hearts with leaves, chopped fine
4 small carrots, sliced thinly
4 cups fresh chopped spinach
2 heads fresh chopped escarole
1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken (from homemade broth)
1-1/2 cups homemade tiny meatballs (recipe below)
3/4 cup Pastina pasta
Salt & pepper as needed for seasoning
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- Mini Meatballs:
1 lb ground pork, turkey, or chicken
1 egg
2 tbsps grated pecorino romano cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs moistened with milk or water
1 tsp salt and black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
Directions
- In a large stock pot, add broth, onion, celery and carrots and simmer broth for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked and tender. Then add the chopped greens and allow to simmer another 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare meatballs. Bring water to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan, add a dash of salt to water. Combine all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Form meat mixture into small meatballs. Drop approximately 10 mini meatballs into the boiling water and allow to cook a few minutes or until the meatballs float to the top of the water. Remove meatballs with slotted spoon and set aside. Continue process until all meatballs are cooked. This can be done a day ahead and kept in refrigerator. NOTE: These meatballs can also be fried or baked in oven instead of boiled. your preference.
- Taste the soup and adjust seasoning by adding salt and pepper as needed. Bring soup back up to a rolling boil and add pastina pasta. The shredded chicken and cooked meatballs can be added as well. Cook for another 8-10 minutes to allow pasta to cook. When pasta is done, turn off the soup and it is ready for service. Ladle hot soup into beautiful bowls. We like to serve it with a sprinkling of grated pecorino romano cheese.. Delicioso!! Buon appetito!!
Notes
- Every Italian family has its own version of this soup. My mother would sometimes scramble a egg with cheese and slowly drizzle it to the soup while it was boiling, creating strings of egg. And my mother-in-law liked to fry her meatballs, did not add pasta but instead, added fried bread croutons on top for service. Both versions were delicious and memorable.
Here is a short video of the finished soup!
