Bright and early this morning, Victor said he wanted to make Italian Wedding Soup for dinner. Naturally, I smiled and heartily agreed!
The name “Italian Wedding Soup” has nothing to do with weddings… The soup in Italian, is Minestra Maritata – Married Soup. It’s about the the marriage of flavors between meat and greens. It’s a bit of a typical American translation error…
Anyway… the soup originated in Naples and was more of a chicken and pancetta, maybe some beef, sausage, or other pork, with escarole, chicory, or other greens, with pecorino romano.
Over time, it morphed into the Americanized version with little meatballs – a recipe from home made with local – affordable – ingredients…
He tweaks it a bit whenever he makes it – just like Nonna would do in Naples…
Italian Wedding Soup
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup onion, minced
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
Soup
- 3 qts chicken broth
- 1 lb escarole, chopped
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup fregola
- 2 large eggs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Make meat balls: Mix all ingredients together and form into very small meat balls- about the size of a prize shooting marble. Place on a sheet pan off to the side.
Make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the carrots, celery, and escarole and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add the meatballs and simmer until they’re are cooked through – about 10 more minutes.
To add the egg: Whisk the eggs to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Slowly drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a large fork to form thin stands of egg.
Ladle into bowls and add additional grated cheese and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil.
It was excellent!
