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An Italian Wedding Soup Recipe Doesn't Need To Be a Lot of Work!The classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe calls for meatballs formed by hand, and then added to the basic chicken soup for a
"marriage" between two completely different types of food. All that work making meatballs may be okay for some people, but I
found an easier way of making them that will really cut down on the praparation time, without sacrificing flavor. Ingredients6 mild Italian sausages, uncooked1 medium onion, chopped 2 medium carrots, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped Splash of Olive oil 2 cups of chopped cooked chicken 10 cups chicken stock or broth Salt and pepper to taste Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to taste, either fresh or dried Making the MeatballsFor some people, getting all the ingredients together for meatballs and forming each one by hand is too much work. Fortunately, I found this really easy way to make meatballs at home with hardly any work at all, and the results are at least as good as the ones made from scratch.Any uncooked sausage is a combination of ground meat, fat and spices. This is exactly what we want for meatballs, so why not just use those? I prefer Italian sausage for my Italian Wedding Soup recipe for the obvious reason, but you could substitute for any uncooked sausage you like. To make the meatballs, heat up some olive oil in a frying pan. Make a small cut at the end of a sausage, and pinch out a small amount of sausage, roll it into a ball, and place in the frying pan. It's that simple! Continue until you have all the meatballs you want, and cook them through completely, as this is uncooked meat. Now wasn't that easier than making them from scratch? Preparation of Soup1. Heat olive oil in soup pot on medium low.2. Add onions, celery and carrot and a pinch of salt. Sautee until soft. 3. Add pepper and other spices, cook for a minute or so more. 4. Add chicken and stock or broth. Bring to boil, reduce, and cook for 15 minutes or so. 5. Add meatballs, cook for just long enough for the broth to warm up the meatballs. NotesAs I mentioned above, this is the most basic Italian Wedding Soup recipe. But there are some "extras" you can add to make this a more traditional style soup, but don't get hung up on making an "exact" version. Italian cooking is very regional, and there is no one official way to make this soup.Many recipes call for spinach or escarole. You can add this in as you add the broth. The 15 minutes cooking time should be plenty to completely wilt the leaves and spread the flavor. Another common addition is an egg mixture that gets added towards the end of cooking. Simply beat 2 eggs in a bowl. Just before adding the meatballs, stir the soup in one direction so that it is twirling in the pot. Now slowly pour in the egg mixture. This should result in threads of egg being mixed throughout the soup, much like Chinese Egg Drop Soup. It is also not uncommon to add some small pasta to this soup. I would stick with the smaller types of pasta, such as bow-tie pasta. Long strands of spaghetti seems a bit awkward in a soup. Just make sure you do not add this too soon, or it will be mushy by the time you serve it. No more than 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Have your own ideas for adding to this Italian Wedding Soup Recipe? Let me know! And if you are actually serving this at a wedding, you will need some appetizers to go with your soup. Try Easy Appetizer Recipes - The place to find delicious ideas for all kinds of hot and cold appetizers, raclette grilling, tapas small plates, snacks, chips and dip ideas, and soup appetizers. Tips and TechniquesThe "faux" meatballs described above freeze very well, so if you find yourself making them for this or any other meal, be sure to make extras and store them in sandwich bags in the freezer. Then it's just a matter of warming them through when you need them for the next time you need them!Return from Italian Wedding Soup Recipe to Clear Soups
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