Fabio Vivianis Italian Wedding Soup Recipe 55

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• For the meatballs: Put the bread, garlic, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a food processor and pulse until very finely ground. Add the parsley and pulse until finely chopped. Add the egg and pulse until combined. Add the beef, pork and Parmesan and pulse until very well mixed. Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil. Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs, transferring them to the prepared baking sheet.
• For the soup: Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large, wide pot over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, stirring gently occasionally, until browned on most sides and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the meatballs to the baking sheet (they will cook again so don't worry about contamination). Repeat with the remaining meatballs.
• Add the carrot, celery and onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, Parmesan rind if using, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper and bring to a brisk simmer. Add the pasta or couscous and cook according to the package instructions for al dente.
• Add the escarole and meatballs to the soup and return to a simmer. Simmer until the escarole is slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove the Parmesan rind and discard. Sprinkle with the parsley and top with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Serve with more Parmesan on the side.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• 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.
• 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 if desired.

CHEF JOHN'S ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot over high heat; brown beef shank slice in hot oil until seared and browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Add onion, carrot, celery, water, bay leaf, 3 cloves peeled garlic, and black peppercorns; bring mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat falls off the bone and stock turns brown in color, 4 to 5 hours. Add more water if beef stock level gets below about 5 cups.
• Place beef short ribs into freezer until firm and very cold, about 15 minutes. Cut meat into cubes and return to freezer until almost frozen, about 30 more minutes.
• Whisk egg with parsley, 2 cloves garlic, and cream in a bowl. Stir in bread crumbs and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Place partially-frozen beef cubes into food processor and pulse with with 1/3 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper until beef is coarsely ground, 5 to 10 pulses. Pulse in bread crumb mixture until mixture is finely ground, about 5 more pulses. Transfer meat to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
• Strain beef stock into a large soup pot, discarding beef and vegetables. Mix chicken broth into beef stock and whisk in tomato paste. Bring broth mixture to a simmer and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Stir kale into broth; simmer kale until tender, about 15 minutes.
• Scoop 2-teaspoon portions of the meat mixture and roll into meatballs.
• Pour pastina into the simmering soup, cook for 5 minutes, and gently add meatballs. Simmer until meatballs are cooked through and tender, about 15 minutes. Serve in bowls garnished with a pinch of black pepper or a sprinkle of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. Crumble beef and sausage over mixture and mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 1/2-in. balls. , In a Dutch oven, brown meatballs in small batches; drain. Add the broth and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in chicken and pasta; cook 5-7 minutes longer or until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach; cook until wilted. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese if desired. Freeze option: Before adding cheese, cool soup. Freeze soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add broth or water if necessary. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

CHRISTINA'S ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients. Add chicken; mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 1-in. balls. , For soup, in a stockpot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery and onions; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until onions are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer., Stir in stock, water, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Drop meatballs into soup; cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Gently stir in pasta; cook 10-12 minutes longer or until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is tender., Stir in spinach. Top servings with parsley and cheese.