Italian Wedding Soup

By Pikachutherecipereader

Had this version last night at Bunko ...the meatballs were done the day before, and then the soup was finished up in a crockpot, making it an easy to prepare. Topped with fresh spinach - looked and tasted amazing!!! Now I'm headed to the store to get the ingredients. :)

Ingredients

• For the meatballs:
• 3/4 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
• 2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
• 2 t. minced garlic (2 cloves)
• 3 T. chpped fresh parsley leaves
• 1/4 c. freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• 3 T. milk
• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the soup:
• 2 T. good olive oil
• 1 c. minced yellow onion
• 1 c. diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 3/4 c. diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 10 c. homemade chicken stock
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. small pasta such as tubetini or stars
• 1/4 c. minced fresh dill
• 12 oz. baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan