Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

Can’t get enough of meatballs? Take a look at my recipe for Baked Meatballs with Mozzarella and Arugula.

Italian Wedding Soup Story

I still remember the day I was introduced to this famous soup. I was on a date with my then boyfriend, now husband, at an Italian restaurant and he ordered it as a appetiser. It seems to be a pretty hefty for a starter but you don’t doubt the appetite of a 20 year old guy! Years later we developed quite a connection with Italy through travel and work, and not once did I see this soup on a menu in real Italian restaurants. What is the deal with that? Is it Italian or not? I asked my Italian friend and she never heard of it either. The reason for her confusion is that the name of this soup comes from a mistranslation and has nothing to do with weddings. The original name minestra maritata got mistranslated and simply means “marriage of flavours”. How very romantic! Traditionally this soup was made with a variety of pork products and different vegetables all cooked separately, which produced different flavoured broths. When combined in one soup pot they created a beautiful union of flavours! It has morphed over the years, changed from the original as has happened with many Italian American dishes, but is nonetheless delicious!

Ingredients

To qualify as an Italian Wedding Soup, it needs to have meatballs, small shaped pasta and greens like spinach, escarole or kale. Meatballs can take a lot of time, but I have a solution for that – read below for more! I’ve also started with a soffrito base, which is what it is called when carrots, onion and celery are sautéed together with oil. As simple as it sounds, it’s one of the key ways that flavour is added in Italian cooking. It provides a base of savoury flavour that the rest of the dish can be built upon. The most traditional pasta used in this soup is acini de pepe but any small pasta will do. I used star shaped stelline, which made my soup dreamy! Don’t you agree?

How to make it

The most time consuming part of this soup is undoubtedly meatballs. So I decided to use a shortcut in the form Italian flavoured sausage, chicken sausage to be exact.

I removed the casing, cut sausages into bite-sized pieces and rolled them into meatballs! You can even skip the last step and simply use sausage pieces. The rest is incredibly fast and easy. I seared the meatballs for extra flavour. They also look so much more appealing in the soup when golden! Then dropped the vegetables in the pot and sautéed them. In went the chicken stock, pasta and spinach. You can use kale instead. Job done!

Adding flavour

First of all, the quality of your stock is the most important thing in the soup. So either make your own or buy the best quality you can afford. Secondly, if you have a small Parmesan rind piece kicking around in your fridge, drop it in the broth in the beginning stage of cooking. You will be amazed at how much it will enhance the flavour of the soup! Also adding a mix of fresh and dried herbs will elevate the flavours even further. For this soup I used fresh chopped parsley and dried basil and oregano with a touch of garlic.

Serving suggestions

I serve this soup with a bit of shaved or grated Parmesan cheese on top and black pepper. Some crusty bread or delicious rolls would complement it nicely.

Storage and leftovers

This soup will keep well for up to 5 days in a refrigerator. It will get thicker as pasta releases its starch, so don’t be afraid to add a splash of water or stock when reheating it. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, although freezing isn’t the best for pasta. When you are ready to eat, let it thaw completely and then reheat as above.