RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : metz3 Chicken Soup w/Meatballs, Veggies & Pasta - meat
My family gets tired of my usual Jewish style chicken soup but I always have gallons of homemade stock in the freezer. Living in a predominantly Italian neighborhood of Rhode Island we have all come to love the soup served at weddings here and known as Italian Wedding Soup. Granted, my version has a decidedly Jewish bent probably due to the veggies and dill I use to make the stock. However the final soup is still delicious and hearty enough to be a meal in itself. Italian Wedding Soup First prepare a large stock pot of chicken or turkey broth. I usually prepare this ahead and refrigerate overnight so I can skim off the fat. Prepare a mixture of 1/2 lb ground beef, about 1/2 egg(just the white works fine), some seasoned bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 2-3 TB of stock. Form into small meatballs no bigger than marbles. Bring the stock to a simmer and drop the balls into the stock and simmer for about 1/2 hour. At this point I either skim off the fat formed by the meat or refrigerate again to remove the fat. Bring the stock to a simmer again and add the following vegetables chopped finely-three stalks of celery, four or five carrots, one large onion. When the veggies are soft, taste the stock and add salt or pepper as needed. Now add any chopped chicken you might have in the house. When all of the ingredients are cooked, add a head of escarole that has been chopped into small pieces and continue to simmer for at least 1/2 hour. In another pot cook a batch of small pasta such as alphabet noodles, ditalini, or orzo and drain. Since pasta will overcook if I have enough soup to reheat or freeze, I do not add the pasta to the soup. Instead I place a scoop of pasta into each soup bowl, add soup and stir. I hope this makes sense and that you enjoy this soup. Jackie
