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Community Corner

Cooking In Real Time: Warm Soup for Rainy Days

A recipe for Italian wedding soup.

On cold rainy days, this soup is a real favorite at my house and it comes together very quickly. If you have time you can certainly make your own meatballs. To make it fast, use some of the better quality frozen varieties to get this soup on the table in about half an hour.

3 carrots, scrubbed
2 stalks celery
1 small onion
a few sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional but nice)
1/8 tsp black pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)
½ Tbsp olive oil
8 cups chicken stock or
8 cups water and 2½ Tbsp Better than Bouillon™ chicken base
½ package (13 oz) Mama Lucia’s™ Italian-style meatballs (cocktail
¾ cup tiny pasta, such as acini di pepe, orzo, or stellini
1 oz (a couple handfuls) fresh baby spinach, escarole, or kale
freshly-grated parmesan

Place the olive oil in a Dutch oven or very large pot over medium heat. Slice the
carrots lengthwise into quarters and then dice into ½ inch pieces. Thinly slice the
celery and finely chop the onion. Snip the parsley straight into the pot, using the
stems as well.

Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic powder, and pepper to your pot; sauté gently for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft. Don’t rush this step. Since your soup won’t be intensifying flavors by simmering all day, we’re building our flavors with this gentle sauté of the veggies.

Meanwhile, cut the frozen meatballs into halves and tear the spinach, kale, or
escarole into small pieces.

Add the chicken stock to your pot and bring to a boil on high heat. Add the pasta, lower the heat but maintain the boil, and cook for 4 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, stirring often.

Add the halved meatballs and cook 2 minutes, stirring gently.

Add the fresh spinach, kale, or escarole; reduce heat to a simmer, cook 1-2 minutes until the greens are wilted but still brightly colored.

Check the pasta to make sure it’s done. Ladle your soup into bowls, grate fresh
parmesan over the top of each bowl, and serve immediately.

You can also use frozen leaf spinach instead of fresh. To avoid a greenish tint
to your soup, thaw the spinach first and give it a good hearty squeeze to remove
moisture. Drop the squeezed spinach into the soup and stir.

If you’ve ever added pasta or grains to soup, you know they tend to soak up the
liquid once the soup sits for a bit. So serve the soup right away to avoid Italian
Wedding Stew!

If you’re planning on leftovers, you can cook the pasta separately from the soup.
Simply cook your pasta in salted water as usual, drain well, place a couple big
spoonfuls into each bowl, and ladle the soup over it.

Add parmesan and serve with a nice crusty bread and a big salad.

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