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Catch up on past Season of Soups (now its own page!).

Despite feeling somewhat ambiguous about Giada, she won me over with her Italian Wedding Soup. I’ve made it once before, and I knew I had to recreate it for Season of Soup.

The meatballs pretty much make this soup, so don’t skimp on those! I actually ended up having extra meatball meat (TWSS, etc.). With the extra, I formed larger balls, sauteed them in olive oil, and ate them on their own. You could also serve them with a little marinara and parmesan. So delish. Anyway, my recipe notes are below in italics.

• 1 small onion, grated
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces (I skipped this altogether, but you could use almond meal or ground flaxseed to keep it gluten-free)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (use the good stuff if you can!)
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 8 ounces ground pork
• Freshly ground black pepper

• 12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution) (I used two heads of endive and one bunch of kale. You can really use any combination of sturdy leafy greens you want.)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese, beef and pork. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet.
  

  

• In the past, I’ve browned the outside of the meatballs in olive oil before submerging them in the soup, but you definitely don’t have to do this.
• To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and curly endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about 8 minutes.
• Whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Finish soup with parmesan cheese (and extra parsley) if desired.

I know, it doesn’t look all that appetizing. But it TASTES awesome. And don’t skip the egg + parmesan step! It’s totally worth it and gives the soup great texture and flavor.