Happy Anniversary to my husband, B! Today we celebrate the leap that changed us both 26 years ago. Time is a funny thing. How can something so long ago seem like yesterday but I can’t remember what I had for dinner two night ago? In actuality we will have been together for 30 years in March. I often think that the celebration of the day we met is more momentous than the day we married. I mean, really, that was the day my life took another direction completely. A much better direction. And, every little decision, every moment has brought me here. With all of you!
I may not remember dinner last week but I do, however, remember the moment my husband discovered Italian Wedding Soup. We were, get this, attending a friend’s wedding and it was served as the soup. Tiny little meatballs swimming in broth with some orzo and greens. So simple. So perfect.
I’ve never made it until now. I’ve eaten it. I’ve liked it. My husband orders it whenever it’s on a menu but I’ve never actually tried to make it. Maybe it’s my PA Dutch upbringing that always brings “thick and rich” to mind when I’m in need of a soup. This soup is neither thick nor rich. It’s light and flavorful with tender meatballs swimming in nutritious broth. The addition of spinach adds another level of texture and short grain, brown rice adds a chewy element that would normally be met by (wheat) orzo.
A couple notes …
You’ll want to cook your rice ahead of time. I used about 1 cup of cooked short grain brown rice in this. I was hoping to find some gluten-free orzo somewhere but no luck. I will experiment with making my own small pasta at some point but not this time. This soup is also perfectly acceptable without any kind of chewy element. Traditional Italian wedding soup is served both ways – with and without pasta.
The meatballs are also cooked ahead of time to ensure that they remain intact when adding them to the soup. The thin brown crust they get on the outside while baking softens in the broth and makes them very tender. They really are wonderful.
Of course, my broth is made like this. For some reason, this one batch got particularly dark with a deep, intense flavor. I chose to use that in the soup to help meet beef’s firmer texture and deeper flavor. It would be just as wonderful with a light chicken broth or even beef broth if you so choose. C’mon, it’s soup. You can hardly go wrong.
- One recipe of gluten-free meatballs (follows)
- 1 cup short grain, brown rice, cooked
- 6 cups bone broth, chicken or beef
- 4 cups spinach, chopped into bite-size pieces
- Heat bone broth in stock pot over high heat.
- When boiling, add meatballs, lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Just before serving, add spinach and turn off burner.
- Serve with crusty bread and a sprinkle of Asiago cheese.
- Combine:
- 1 lb. ground beef, preferably pastured
- ¼ onion, minced (small)
- 1 tsp. garlic, minced
- 1 small egg
- 1 T. fresh Italian herbs such as oregano, basil, parsley and thyme
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ⅛ tsp. ground pepper
- ½ cup bread crumbs {gluten-free}
- Mix all together well and shape into 1-1/4" balls.
- Place on baking sheet and bake at 350˚ for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- Makes 25-30 meatballs.