Italian wedding soup
Tiny oven-baked parmesan meatballs, little pasta and spinach in a clear, savory broth, a bowl that makes any weeknight feel like a treat.
- 60 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 6
- About $2.83 a serving
- 400 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 8 oz 85/15 ground beef
- 8 oz ground pork
- ⅓ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup grated parmesan, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup orzo
- 4 cups baby spinach
From your pantry
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 400 calories, 23 g protein, 29 g carbs and 21 g fat, and costs about $2.83 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 425°F and line a with .
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Parchment paper. Parchment paper is a nonstick, oven-safe paper for lining pans. Food lifts right off and cleanup is easy, but don’t swap in wax paper or put parchment under the broiler.
How you’ll know: It lies flat in the pan, and the food slides off when you lift it.
Mix the beef, pork, breadcrumbs, egg, ¼ cup of the parmesan, 1 clove of garlic, the parsley and salt in a bowl with your hands, just until combined.
Dolly’s tip: Mix gently and stop as soon as it comes together. Squeezing hard makes dense meatballs.Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls, about 40, and set them on the pan.
Dolly’s tip: Wet your hands with a little water every few meatballs and the mixture won’t stick.Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until and 160°F in the middle.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Timer: 13 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
While they bake, heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, carrots, celery and the rest of the garlic for 5 minutes, until soft.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the broth, over high heat, and stir in the orzo. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until tender.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Medium-high heatTimer: 8 min
Add the meatballs and spinach and for 2 minutes, until the spinach and the meatballs are hot.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Low heatTimer: 2 min
Stir in the pepper, taste for salt, and serve with the rest of the parmesan on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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