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...

Green Chipotle Chili

Day 7: Spicy Hot

Since Jay and I make chili often, I wanted to try something different for chili night. With the lack of chili powder in this recipe one could even question if this even qualifies as chili, but nonetheless it is definitely different from the kind we usually make. I perused somewhere around ten chili recipes and more or less created my own, what one could call a green chili. A word of warning about chipotle chili in adobo sauce: These are extremely spicy and depending on your tolerance to spice use accordingly. I generally blend the contents of the can in a food processor and then add as needed. Jay and I like spice and I would estimate I used about 3-4 tbsp. It ended up with an extremely potent, latent spice.

Green Chipotle Chili

2 tbsp canola oil

1 med onion, diced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 lb ground turkey or meat substitute

2 small poblano chili peppers, diced

1 small green bell pepper diced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp coriander

2 tsp oregano

1-3 tbsp chipotle in adobo sauce, blended

4 cups cooked pinto beans

3 18 oz cans whole tomatillos, drained and finely chopped

1 can beer or 1 1/2 cup water or broth

2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

Heat oil in a deep soup pot and saute onion, garlic, and jalapeno for 2-3 minutes until just soft. Add ground meat (or sub) and cook until the meat is not pink. Add chipotle, bell pepper, poblano, cumin, coriander and oregano and cook until peppers are slightly soft. Add tomatillos, beans, and beer and simmer 20-25 minutes. Add sugar and salt to taste and cook 5 minutes more. Serve with a garnish of grated cheese and chopped fresh cilantro.

Jay's review:

4.5 yums (out of 5). Hot!