Italian Wedding Soup

Have you ever been to a wedding where this soup was served? Oddly enough, I never have been served Italian Wedding Soup at a wedding. Even still I love this soup and most often finding myself cracking open a can of Progressive's version of the soup. It's not bad in a pinch but it really isn't that great either.

Since I am a self-appointed Martha-Stewart-Recipe-Taster it should come as no surprise that I use her Light Italian Wedding Soup Recipe. The biggest change I made was the type of ground turkey used, she recommends 93% fat free ground turkey which of course includes dark meet and I used 99% ground turkey and found it absolutely delicious and very tender. The other change I made was I used kale instead of escarole because I wanted to.

This is a quick and easy soup. I made it on a week night in less than 45 minutes. Here's how I did it.

Roll out the cute little meatballs. This photo doesn't give you a sense of proportion but they are small. I would estimate they are 1/3 the size of a normal meatball. These are really simple just an egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and parmesan.

Next up, dice and saute up onion, celery, and carrots in a little EVOO to soften.

Add in the liquids and meatballs. Then lightly simmer the meat-a-balls.

Finally, the kale. How beautiful is that? I love this stuff. A few minutes and it's nicely wilted into the soup.

Obviously, this is best served with parmesan on top. Really, what isn't? I want to make this all over again immediately I loved this soup!

Italian Wedding Soup
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey, 99 percent lean

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

½ cup plain dried breadcrumbs, I used whole wheat

¼ cup grated parmesan as well as more for serving

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 cans (14 ½ oz. each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cans (14 ½ oz. each) diced tomatoes in juice

3-4 cups chopped kale

Directions

Combine ground turkey, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and parmesan in a bowl. Use hands to combine but do not over work the meat. Roll into small meatballs use about a tablespoon of meat per ball. 

In a stock pot or dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until vegetables are soft for about 8 minutes.  

Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and increase heat to bring to a light simmer. Add the meatballs. Cook until the meatballs rise to the surface which takes about 5 minutes. 

Finally, add the kale and stir and allow to wilt about 3 minutes. 

Serve topped with parmesan. 

Enjoy!  

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