Italian Wedding Soup

Day 21: Wedding in January - or February

A few weeks ago I posted a status update on Facebook that I was weeding in January. Most everyone conveniently misread this to say "Wedding in January". In order to avoid a similar problem let me get out of the way that no, we didn't make Wedding Soup for any reason other than it sounded good. Actually, Italian Wedding Soup is apparently thus named by result of a mistranslation. It really is meant to be minestra maritata ("married soup"). In any case, Italian Wedding soup is basically brothy soup with greens and meatballs. There are, of course, many variations, and while I made our version with fake meat, I think ground turkey would work really well this recipe. I adapted the recipe from an Ina Garten recipe. Ina Garten is otherwise known as the Barefoot Contessa and is a protege of Martha Stewart. I don't hold that against her, and her Barefoot Contessa Cookbook is one of my favorites...

Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs:

1 lb ground turkey or Gimmie Lean ground beef style meat substitute

1/4 small red onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

2 tbsp fennel seeds (Jay thought this was slightly too much, I liked it... adjust accordingly)

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1 tsp salt

Broth:

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

8 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup whole wheat pasta (rotini, elbows, or even orzo would work)

1 bunch lacinato kale, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl combine ingredients for meatballs and mix thoroughly. Using a tablespoon or just your hands roll meatballs into 1" balls and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Take out of the oven and set aside.

While the meatballs are cooking assemble soup. In a large soup pot heat olive oil and cook onions, celery, and carrots over medium heat for 5 minutes until onions are slightly translucent. Add wine and let the alcohol cook off for a minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add pasta and lower heat to a simmer. Cook until pasta is cooked and add kale. Turn the heat off and let the soup sit for 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. To serve ladle soup into a bowl and drop three meatballs into broth. Garnish with Parmesan and red pepper flakes if you like a little heat.

Jay's review:

4.5 yums (out of 5)! Its like watching Jersey Shore, but not as tasteless...

Minestrone with Pesto

Day 10: The Kitchen Sink

So the Italian version of tortilla soup turns out to be Minestrone. So vague is the definition of this soup I have yet to find a codified recipe nor an agreed upon pronunciation. Is it Min-e-stron-ee, rhymes with knee? or Min-e-stron rhymes with throne? I really couldn't say. All I know is that making Minestrone is a dangerous endeavour. Dangerous because when including everything but the kitchen sink, one is likely to make far too much soup, which is what happened tonight. Seriously, if anyone in the area needs some soup, feel free to stop by. So Jay and I had many arguments (err, conversations) about what exactly constitutes Minestrone. He seemed to have more rules than me. Must have pasta. Must have tomatoes, but not a tomato broth. I looked at probably 4-5 minestrone recipes and have created the following. A few recommend garnishing with pesto, which I store bought (I know, for shame):

Minestrone with Pesto

2 tbsp olive oil

1 med onion diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 small potato, cubed

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried marjoram

2 dried bay leaves

1/2 lb green beans, stemmed and cut into 2 in pieces

1 red bell pepper

1 zucchini, chopped

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

8 cups vegetable broth

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 lb whole wheat rotini pasta

1 15 oz can beans (great northern, kidney, or cannellini will all work)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup pesto, homemade or store bought

In a large soup pan heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and sweat for 3-4 minutes. Add potatoes and cook for 2 minutes more. Add thyme, marjoram and bay leave and cook for 1 minute. Add green beans, bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, broth, wine and dried pasta and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until pasta is cooked. Add beans and cook for a few minutes to heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of pesto.

Jay's review:

4.5 yums (out of 5). il 'strone e buono!