The cold weather has finally made its way to Virginia and with it came strong cravings for a big warm bowl of italian wedding soup. This soup is so comforting and cozy. A beautifully flavored broth full of garlic, onions and kale with tiny little italian sausage meatballs and some of the most adorable pasta ever made. Put on your favorite sweater, tear off a piece of crusty italian bread and settle in for one super cozy meal.
Let’s get it started…
This recipe is pretty traditional with the exception of one step. Typically, the meat balls are formed and dropped into the soup raw. They cook as the soup simmers and I don’t dislike this method, I just prefer my meatballs to be browned a bit before adding them to the soup. When you brown meatballs, so much flavor is brought out of them and then shared with the soup, so the first step in my italian wedding soup recipe is to get the meatballs into the oven.
In the time it takes for these tiny meatballs to brown up, the rest of the soup will be done and just about ready to enjoy!
In a large bowl, combine 16 ounces of italian sausage with 1/4 cup of italian seasoned breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of grated parmesan, 1 tablespoon of dried parsley, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 large egg. Once everything is fully incorporated, form teaspoon sized meatballs and place them onto a foil lined baking sheet.
Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
In addition to the meatballs, you will need 8 cups of chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 large diced shallot, 1 finely chopped medium yellow onion, 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic, 5 leaves of kale cut into strips with the stems removed, 1/2 cup of finely shredded parmesan, 1 1/4 cups of acini di pepe pasta, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
I also grab some red pepper flakes and a little fresh parmigiano reggiano to garnish the soup before serving. If you don’t have parmigiano reggiano, parmesan works great too.
Start by adding 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil into a large skillet and place it over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and shallots and cook them for 5-7 minutes. While they are cooking, pour 8 cups of chicken stock into a soup pot and place it over medium heat to start warming up.
When the onions have started to soften, add the garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring constantly. Transfer the onions, shallots and garlic into the chicken stock and stir to combine.
Once the stock is simmering, add 1 1/4 cups of acini di pepe pasta, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional).
As soon as your meatballs are browned, transfer them onto the soup and add 1/2 cup of finely shedded parmesan and your thinly sliced kale. Stir everything together and let it continue to simmer for a few minutes.
Now comes the fun part…
Grab your favorite soup bowl (the big one), fill it up with some italian wedding soup and sprinkle some salty shredded parmigiano reggiano or parmesan and a few more red pepper flakes and get ready to be very, very proud of yourself for making such fabulous soup…
This soup is simply wonderful. The flavors are beautiful, the little meatballs are delicious and that acini di pepe is cute and fun and the perfect pasta for such a soup.
I hope you enjoy a bowl of this italian wedding soup on a cool, crisp evening with maybe the fireplace on or a great movie and that you feel as cozy as I do right now.
Enjoy!!
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Italian sausage
- 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 large egg
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 5 kale leaves, stems removed, chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan, finely shredded
- 1 1/4 cups acini di pepe pasta
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- red pepper flakes (optional)
- parmigiano reggiano, finely shredded (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- In a large bowl, combine 16 ounces of italian sausage with 1/4 cup of italian seasoned breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of grated parmesan, 1 tablespoon of dried parsley, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder and 1 large egg
- Form the mixture into teaspoon sized meatballs and place them on a foil lined baking sheet
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes
- While the meatballs are baking, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a medium skillet and place it over medium heat
- Add 1 medium chopped yellow onion and 1 large chopped shallot
- Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions have softened a bit
- Add 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic and cook for 60 seconds, stirring consistently
- Add 8 cups of chicken stock into a soup pot and place it over medium high heat
- Add the softened onions, shallots and garlic into the chicken stock
- Bring the stock up to a simmer
- Once the stock is simmering, add 1 1/4 cups of acini di pepe pasta, 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes
- Simmer for 5 minutes
- Add the browned meatballs, 1/2 cup of finely shredded parmesan and the thin sliced kale and stir to combine
- Let the soup simmer for a few minutes before serving
- Garnish with shredded parmigiano reggiano (or parmesan) and red pepper flakes
