Italian Wedding Soup
In spite of its name, this is not a soup served at Italian weddings! The name comes from the veal meatballs and vegetables wedded together and a kind of culinary matrimonial bliss. The meatballs should be a small as possible, no more than a teaspoon of your mixture for each ball. This wonderful soup always includes “bitter” greens, and as these greens are always sandy, be sure to wash them well before adding them to the simmering broth.
Mini Veal Meatballs
- ½ cup soft breadcrumbs made from day-old bread
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- ¼ cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (1 ounce)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 8 ounces ground veal
- 2 ounces ground pork, or more ground veal
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 1 medium celery rib, cut into 1/4 inch dice
- 6 cups Next-Day Roasted Chicken Stock (from Frankie’s cookbook) or canned reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 small head escarole, coarsely chopped
- To make the meatballs: combine breadcrumbs and milk together in a medium bowl and let stand until crumbs are softened by the milk, about 3 minutes. Add the Roman, egg yolk, parsley, thyme, salt, garlic powder, and pepper and mix well. Add the veal and pork. Using clean hands mix ingredients together just until combined – do not overmix or the meatballs will be heavy. Refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes so mixture can firm up a bit.
- Using wet hands rinsed under cold water, roll a teaspoon of the veal mixture into a small meatball and place on a platter or baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Loosely cover the mini meatballs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
- To make the soup: heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about five minutes. Stir in the broth and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium– low and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Carefully add the meatballs to the simmering soup. Cover and simmer for five minutes, just until the meatballs are set. Gently stir in the escarole and return to the simmer. Continue cooking, uncovered, until escarole is very tender and the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Season to taste and salt and finely ground pepper. Serve hot.
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