Classic Comfort: Our Family’s Perfected Ina Garten Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

There’s something uniquely comforting about a warm bowl of soup, especially when it’s packed with flavor and love. For us, few recipes evoke that feeling quite like a hearty Italian Wedding Soup. While many versions exist, it’s Ina Garten’s Italian Wedding Soup from her iconic cookbook, Back to Basics, that truly captured our hearts. Ina’s recipes are a consistent favorite in our kitchen, always reliable and always delicious. However, like many beloved family dishes, we couldn’t resist adding a few personal touches to make it perfectly suited to our taste. This isn’t about changing a masterpiece, but rather enhancing it with subtle tweaks that our family adores, transforming a great recipe into our ultimate comfort food experience.

Crafting the Perfect Meatballs for Your Italian Wedding Soup

The heart of any great Italian Wedding Soup lies in its delicious, tender meatballs. Our version combines a mix of lean **ground chicken** with flavorful **chicken or pork sausage** (casing removed for ease) to achieve the perfect texture and depth of flavor. Fresh ingredients are key here: **fresh white bread crumbs** bind everything together, while minced **garlic** and vibrant **fresh parsley** infuse each bite with aromatic notes. A blend of tangy **freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese** and rich **freshly grated Parmesan cheese** adds a salty, umami punch that elevates the meatballs from good to extraordinary. A touch of **milk** and an **extra-large egg** ensure they remain moist and tender, perfectly seasoned with **salt & freshly ground black pepper**.

While forming the meatballs might seem like the most time-consuming part of this recipe, it can actually be a wonderfully therapeutic experience. We encourage you to put on some relaxing music, enjoy the view from your kitchen window, or even sip on a glass of wine – make it an enjoyable part of your cooking ritual. The process of gently combining the ingredients and rolling each small sphere can be quite meditative.

Here’s a clever tip for future meals: when the mood strikes, consider doubling the meatball recipe. Bake an extra tray and once cooled, simply pop them into the freezer. This smart meal prep ensures you have a stash of homemade meatballs ready to go for another batch of soup, a quick pasta dish, or even a flavorful appetizer, saving you precious time on busy weeknights.

Meatball Preparation Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
• In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, minced garlic, fresh parsley, both grated cheeses (Pecorino Romano and Parmesan), milk, lightly beaten egg, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
• Gently mix all ingredients with a fork until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can make the meatballs tough.
• Using a small melon baller or a small spoon, form 3/4-inch meatballs. Drop them onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Aim for about 84 bite-sized meatballs. Don’t worry about making them perfectly round; the key is uniform, bite-sized portions.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until they are cooked through and lightly browned on the outside. Baking them is pure genius – it ensures they cook evenly, become deliciously crisp on the outside, and stay tender inside, all without the mess of frying!
• Once baked, set them aside. They will be fully cooked and ready to be added to your simmering soup.

Building the Flavorful Broth: The Heart of Your Italian Wedding Soup

While your delightful meatballs are baking to perfection, it’s the ideal time to turn your attention to the rich and aromatic soup base. For this recipe, it’s essential to use a large Dutch oven or stockpot that can hold at least 8 quarts. This generous size ensures there’s ample room for all the wonderful ingredients to simmer and meld their flavors beautifully.

The foundation of this savory broth begins with good quality **olive oil**, gently heating a finely minced **medium-sized yellow onion**, finely diced **fresh carrots**, and crisp **celery**. This aromatic trio, often referred to as a soffritto, forms the flavorful backbone of many Italian dishes. Sautéing them slowly until they are softened and fragrant extracts their natural sweetness and deepens their flavors, creating a wonderful depth for the soup. Once the vegetables are perfectly tender, the liquid ingredients are introduced: generous cans of **chicken broth or homemade stock** for that quintessential savory base, and a touch of **dry white wine**. The wine adds a subtle acidity and complexity that brightens the entire soup, creating a more sophisticated flavor profile.

This soup cooks relatively quickly once the vegetables are sautéed and the broth begins to simmer, so make sure all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go. The next crucial step involves the **small pasta**, such as tubetini or stars. Here’s a key tip for the best texture: if you plan on serving the entire batch of soup immediately, you can cook the pasta directly in the simmering broth. However, if you anticipate having leftovers, we highly recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding it to individual bowls just before serving. This prevents the pasta from absorbing all that delicious broth and becoming mushy, ensuring every serving is as fresh and flavorful as the first.

What You’ll Need for the Soup Base:

• Good quality olive oil
• Medium sized yellow onion, minced
• Fresh carrots & celery, finely diced
• Chicken broth or stock (large cans or homemade)
• Dry white wine
• Small pasta, such as tubetini or stars
• Fresh dill
• Baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Cooking the Soup Base:

• Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in your large, heavy-bottomed soup pot.
• Add the minced onion, diced carrots, and celery. Sauté gently until the vegetables are softened, which should take about 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent browning.
• Pour in the chicken broth and dry white wine. Bring this mixture to a rolling boil.
• Once boiling, add the small pasta to the simmering broth. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the pasta is tender but still has a slight bite (al dente). Remember, if you plan for leftovers, cook pasta separately and add just before serving.

Bringing It All Together: The Final Touch of Italian Wedding Soup

With the pasta perfectly tender and the meatballs beautifully baked, it’s time to unite all the components of your Italian Wedding Soup. Once you’ve removed the golden-brown meatballs from the oven, they will be completely cooked and ready to join the savory broth. This final stage is quick and ensures all the flavors meld harmoniously.

Finishing Your Soup:

• Add the fresh minced dill to the simmering broth, followed by all the baked meatballs.
• Allow the soup to simmer for just one minute. This brief simmer helps the meatballs absorb some of the delicious broth without becoming overcooked.
• Taste the soup for seasoning and adjust with additional salt and pepper if needed. Remember, the cheeses in the meatballs and the broth itself contribute to the saltiness, so taste before adding more.
• Finally, stir in the fresh baby spinach. Cook for just one more minute, or until the spinach has barely wilted. The goal is for the greens to remain vibrant and slightly firm, adding a lovely freshness and color to the soup.
• Ladle the piping hot Italian Wedding Soup into individual soup bowls and generously sprinkle each serving with extra freshly grated Parmesan cheese for an irresistible finish.

The beauty of adding the greens at the very end is that they remain wonderfully fresh and bright, offering a delightful contrast to the rich broth and savory meatballs. The subtle bitterness of the spinach perfectly complements the other flavors, making each spoonful a balanced and satisfying experience.

Our family agrees: this Ina Garten-inspired Italian Wedding Soup is truly exceptional, especially when garnished with a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. It’s a complete meal in itself, but for an even heartier feast, serve it alongside some crusty bread for dipping and perhaps a crisp green salad. This soup is perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner, a comforting weekend lunch, or even as a special offering for guests. It’s guaranteed to bring warmth and joy to your table, a testament to the timeless appeal of good, wholesome, homemade food.

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