Italian Wedding Soup Minestra Maritata Food

(MINESTRA MARITATA) ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large, deep stockpot, heat the olive oil and garlic over medium heat until the garlic is just fragrant and very lightly colored, about 1 minute. Add the crushed red pepper and simmer for about 30 seconds.
• Add the broth, onion, carrot, celery and sausage pieces, cover, lower the heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes. (If you happen to have any leftover Parmigiano-Reggiano rinds, these would be a great addition to enrich your broth! Throw them in together with the onion, carrot, and celery.)
• Meanwhile, blanch the chopped greens in abundant salted boiling water, 1 to 2 minutes, then drain well. This eliminates the excess bitterness.
• Remove the onion, carrot, and celery from the broth and discard (discard any cheese rinds at this point also, if you're using them). Transfer the blanched greens into the broth and let simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until the greens are tender and the broth is rich and savory.
• Serve with freshly grated cheese sprinkled on top and slices of grilled or toasted crusty bread. A white wine, such as a Fiano or Greco di Tufo, would be a good pairing.

MINESTRA MARITATA (ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP)

Steps:

• In a medium soup pot, add the chicken stock, garlic, parsley, 1/2 of the fresh greens, and 1/2 of the Parmesan cubes. Heat over medium high heat, stirring often, scraping the bottom of the pot to catch any Parmesan that might get stuck.
• Add the remaining greens and cheese as you have room in the pot. Bring to a simmer.
• Add meatballs and simmer until they are heated through.
• Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. Serve with crusty bread and extra, fresh grated, Parmesan cheese, if desired.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP (MINESTRA MARITATA)

Steps:

• Place first 6 ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil., then immediately reduce to a simmer and cook until the chicken easily falls off the bones. Remove chicken from the broth and allow to cool. Reserve the broth. When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove all of the meat from the bones and chop meat into small pieces.
• While the soup is cooking, make the meatballs. Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and chopped parsley. Form into small meatballs and place on a baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven until fully cooked, approximately 15 minutes.
• Strain the broth used to cook the chicken. Add the remaining onion, celery, and carrots. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender.
• Cook the escarole in a separate small pot of boiling salted water until wilted, about 10 minutes. Drain, squeeze dry and add to the broth. Add the cooked chicken, meatballs and cooked, drained pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat well and serve accompanied by Parmesan cheese.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• Tear the sliced bread into bite sized pieces and, using a food processor, buzz until it turns into breadcrumbs approximately the size of peppercorns. Set aside.
• In a large pot, combine the chicken stock, water, carrots, celery and onions, bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 20-30 minutes until vegetables soften.
• While the soup base is simmering, prepare the meatball mix. Combine the ground beef, ground pork, grated Parmigiana-Reggiano, fresh breadcrumbs, eggs, minced garlic cloves and chopped parsley, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Mix until just combined and begin forming meatballs approximately the size of a rounded teaspoon and place 1 inch apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Broil the meatballs on high for 8-10 minutes until browned on top. Remove from the oven and immediately place into the simmering soup base along with any juices that have purged on the baking sheet.
• Add the chopped spinach as well as cooked acini de pepe pasta to the soup, adjust with salt and pepper. Serve with additional grated Parmigiana-Reggiano on top.

SIMPLE ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP (PALEO)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large soup pot, saute the carrots, zucchini, sliced leeks, and garlic until vegetables are slightly softened.
• While the vegetables are sauteing, mix the ground turkey and herbs by hand in a bowl until well blended. Roll the turkey into small meatballs @ 1" diameter (this will make 35-40 meatballs). Bake these in the oven for 15 minutes. Set aside.
• When the vegetables have softened slightly, add in the chicken stock and the herbs and seasonings. Simmer until the vegetables are softened to your liking. Chop the spinach leaves and stir into the soup until wilted.
• At this point you can either stir the meatballs into the soup, or you can place several meatballs in a bowl and spoon the vegetable soup on top. Either way, Enjoy!

QUICK ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP WITH MEATBALLS MINESTRA MARITATA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 F. Stir all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. Form meatballs using a small scoop or melon baller and place on foiled lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Do not overbake. **
• Sweat the vegetables, garlic, and seasonings in oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, covered, over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes.
• Add the smoked beef sausage quarters and continue to cook an additional 2 minutes.
• Deglaze with wine; reduce until nearly evaporated. Stir in broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered 15-20 minutes.
• Drop meatballs into simmering soup and cook gently until they float, 3-4 minutes. Add beans, arugula or spinach, and parsley, and cook just until the arugula or spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. ***
• Whisk eggs with some of the hot broth, then remove the soup from heat; stir in egg mixture.****
• Garnish soup with Parmesan

VEGAN ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• NOTE: The meatballs need to be prepared differently for this soup. Omit 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil and replace it with 1 tablespoon of water. We want to make the meatballs smaller for this soup so instead of making the meatballs with 2 tablespoons for each meatball measure them out using 1/2 a tablespoon. Also, cook 10 minutes on each side instead of 15 minutes like the recipe originally states.
• In a large pot sweat the onion, mushrooms and garlic with the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce, on medium heat, until the onions are transparent. Add to the pot the water, kale, cooking sherry, fennel, Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder, bay leaf, sugar and liquid smoke and the rest of the soy sauce. Cook this for 25 to 30 minutes, until the kale gets done, on medium heat, covered. The last 5 minutes of cooking add the corkscrew noodles.
• Last, add the meatballs and tomato sauce and turn the heat up to high and cook an additional 3 minutes.