Italian Wedding Soup Pasta has all the same great flavors as the soup, but has lots more of those delicious ingredients in each and every bite. The hero of this dish are the homemade meatballs! Each meatball is moist and bursting with Italian spices that pull this whole meal together. You’ll love this experience, I promise!
I don’t make pasta often. Ever since my husband was diagnosed with Celiac’s Disease, we have just steered away from it and will usually double-up on veggies as our side dish. I have been wanting to make this dish for a loooong time and finally made it a point to do so (when my husband was on shift, of course). I LOVE Italian wedding soup so the thought of that soup on steroids, as a pasta dish, just got my imagination going! How could it NOT be good?! Thank goodness it lived up to my expectations and turned out de-licious!! The sauce is light, but still provides the perfect amount of flavor creating moisture throughout the dish. And the meatballs… well, they just made the whole thing come together! The meatballs are made from beef and pork which, when combined, create a super moist and tender meatball. This recipe makes a lot of food, so if you’re planning on making it for only a few people I would cut it in half. It’s really good as leftovers too (might I add)… I should know! Ha!
Isn’t it so pretty too? Gah! It’s like eye candy with all those colors!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 small onion, chopped fine
- 3 T dried parsley
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 2 eggs
- 6 T ketchup
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 C plain Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 sweet onion, chopped fine
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 3-4 carrots, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
- 3 C chicken broth
- 1 T Better Than Bouillon
- 3 heaping cups fresh spinach or escarole
- 3/4 package ditalini pasta
- olive oil
- fresh grated Parmesan Cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In large bowl, combine pork and beef until mixed thoroughly. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Roll each meatball using even amounts. (about 1 1/2- 2 tablespoon in size) Set aside.
- Cut your onion, celery and carrots for the pasta Set aside.
- In a nonstick pan, heat olive oil (just enough to cover bottom of pan) and place meatballs when oil is hot. Cook on medium heat, gently turning meatballs often, until cooked all the way through. Place on paper towel as each batch is done.
- In separate pan, add 3 T olive oil and add onion, carrots and celery. Stir and then cover cooking on medium heat until carrots are tender. If onions start to turn brown, turn the heat down.
- While meatballs are cooking, boil water and cook pasta until AL DENTE and drain. (Do not overcook or your pasta will be soggy when you add the sauce) Leave your pasta in the colander and return empty pot to stove top. Add 3 cups chicken broth and 1 T Better Than Bouillon. Whisk together and bring to a boil. Let boil for 1 minute and turn heat down to low. Simmer.
- Just before combining all ingredients, add spinach to simmering chicken broth and stir. Combine pasta, meatballs, vegetables and broth in large pot and gently stir.
- Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese and cracked pepper.
Notes
pasta recipe adapted from ivillage, meatball recipe adapted from Giada
