Italian Wedding Soup

So my mom came into town this week. She was willing to go to San Diego with us and therefor I did not get much time to show off my culinary prowess. I like to make something spectacular when guests come to the house. Gives them something amazing to remember me by. And it varies from person to person. So Mom wanted soup. And I do soup very well. Everyone who has ever tasted my next soup has never been disappointed! It is calming to the soul, it is a feel better sick soup, it is "I love you so much" soup, and a comforting homey soup. So what is this magical soup for any and every occassion? Italian Wedding Soup! It is absolutely the best soup in the world.

This recipe started as a hodgepodge of various recipes and is now solely mine! I have perfected it with some personal touches and of course.....the secret ingredients!! Italian wedding soup is basically meatball soup with pasta, veggies, and spinach. This recipe does require some patience, time, and love. The meatballs are really where you want to spend your time.

Meatballs:
1lb ground beef or turkey
1/2c or so of breadcrumbs
1/4-1/2c grated parmesan
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2tsp or so of Italian seasoning

Mix ingredients in a large bowl until well mixed. Take a tiny pinch of mixture and roll into a ball. The key is to keep the meatballs about the size of a marble. You want to be able to spoon your soup and get meatball and pasta the fit into your mouth without cutting or choking. This is super important!!! Heat a large skillet on medium and saute your meatballs until browned on all sides. Do not worry if they are cooked all the way through, the soup will finish cooking your meatballs.

Me cooking those meatballs!

Soup:
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 onion, pureed in food processor or diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6c chicken stock
1-2t italian seasoning
1/2 box ditalini pasta or other small shaped pasta
1c frozen spinach
salt and pepper
**special ingredients....for more info on that contact me

In a large pot heat 1T olive oil and saute vegetables until they begin to soften, Add chicken stock, seasoning, special ingredients,  and meatballs and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta and simmer for another 10 minutes. Add frozen spinach and simmer until pasta is cooked and soup is hot. If the pasta is absorbing too much liquid, add 1/2c water at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Serve and enjoy!

I was so happy to be able to make this for my mom. I bought some rosemary foccacia and baked up to eat with the soup. I do not always make this soup because of the tediousness of the meatballs. Rolling, shaping, and sauting them is not always easy or fun.....but absolutely necessary! Do not attempt if you are not willing to do this. My mom you ask?? She loved it. Or at least she said she did. Alex always love it. And the kids.....well.....if you have to ask them you obviously have not met them!!

So in addition to the soup we had some fried calamari. And this folks is what I made my dear old mother try!! Muahahahaha!! She told me that I could make her try one thing and she would try it, maybe not like it but try it at least. So I decided on octopus!! YES! Now don't get too upset, but I do not eat the tentacly part of the octopus,just the tubes. But I will say here that I did not cut or marinate the calamari. My lovely neighbor brought us some that she had cleaned and seasoned. All I did was coat them in panko (a Japanese breadcrumb.....a MUST in my house!!) and fry them for 1-2 minutes on each side. But here's where my husband comes into the picture. These little suckers pop ALL OVER the kitchen. One popped and the grease flew into my eye.....not cool!! So my inventive husband found his dust goggles and put them on and turned the calamari for me! And what a calamari flipper he was. So props here to my sous-chef Alex!! Love you baby!!

So over all we had a fabulous Italian meal. And if was of course no hardship on me or my mother to eat Italian food. I mean who doesn't want to be Italian.....aside from my husband that is. But he did get to try some of Italy's finest beer. Who knew?? They actually drink beer in Italy....and here I was thinking it was all wine! But now you know!  Now it is probably cliche Italian food, but good food is good food.....end of story!