Cheesy Italian Wedding Soup
This hearty Italian wedding soup is a cherished tradition, perfect for a comforting family meal. It features small, flavourful beef meatballs cooked with onion and garlic powder, simmered in a chicken broth base with chopped spinach and pastina pasta. The dish is finished with a lavish topping of grated Parmesan and Romano cheese, which adds a rich, savoury depth. It yields enough for eight servings and comes together in just 35 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach
- 3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans chicken broth
- 2 cups pastina pasta
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- salt
- pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- grated romano cheese
- grated parmesan cheese
Method
- Combine the ground beef with onion powder and garlic powder to form the meatball mixture.
- Shape the mixture into small meatballs, each roughly 3/4 teaspoon in size.
- You can adjust the size of the meatballs to your preference for the soup.
- Fry the meatballs in the olive oil and, once cooked, add more onion or garlic powder if desired.
- Continue cooking them in the pan until they are fully done.
- Drain any excess fat, then increase the heat to brown the meatballs for extra flavour.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan and set them aside.
- Pour two cans of chicken broth into a large soup pot.
- Break the frozen spinach into smaller pieces or allow it to thaw first.
- Stir the spinach into the broth until it is fully thawed and separated.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the pot with the spinach and broth, then set it aside.
- In a separate pan, combine the remaining can of broth with a can of water and a pinch of salt.
- Bring this liquid to a boil before adding the pastina pasta.
- Cook the pasta until it becomes tender.
- Transfer the cooked pasta and its broth into the large soup pot and stir everything over heat until it simmers.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top generously with grated Parmesan and Romano cheese.
- Season each serving with salt and pepper according to taste.
- The generous amount of cheese is essential for the best flavour, so be sure to use plenty.
Nutrition (per serving)
Sodium572600 mg
Recipe details
CategoryMeat
AuthorRecipeNut