Welcome to The Fresh 20 Recipe Diary!
This week’s recipe: WEDDING SOUP
ORIGINS:
Surprisingly, Wedding Soup isn’t actually a soup served at weddings – its name originates from a mispronunciation! In Italian, the soup is known as Minestra Maritata; Minestra meaning ‘soup’ and Maritata meaning ‘marriage’ – but not that kind of marriage. It refers to the perfect marriage of the signature flavors in the soup: meat, broth, vegetables and greens.
KEY INGREDIENTS:
- Meatballs – Chef Leslie’s fresh take on Wedding Soup features balsamic herb turkey meatballs leftover from Monday’s meal rather than a traditional beef or pork meatball. Not only are they lighter due to the use of ground turkey, they add an unexpected depth of flavor from the tang of balsamic vinegar. Using pre-cooked meatballs makes this a quick and delicious weeknight dinner.
- Greens – Traditional wedding soups use a variety of greens; endive, escarole, spinach or kale. We are using kale because you will have it on hand from Wednesday’s Kale & Potato Sauté, but feel free to substitute any other dark leafy green – the soup is very versatile!
- Pasta – While very early versions of the soup didn’t include pasta, it is now featured in most recipes. Small pasta, in this case orzo, makes the soup hearty and suitable for a dinner. Don’t have orzo? No problem, any whole wheat pasta you have on hand will be fine – macaroni, penne or even broken spaghetti noodles would all work well.
- Broth – a high-quality broth is critical for any soup. If you don’t have the time to make your own (watch for our upcoming ‘Cooking 101’ blog post about making homemade broth) be sure to choose a high quality, organic, low-sodium broth. At The Fresh 20, Pacific brand is one of our favorites.
RECIPE NOTES:
Quick, easy, and so versatile! Wedding Soup is a great starter recipe for a novice cook. No complicated techniques or prepping means it’s a great week to get the kids in the kitchen to help.hammer mill
Wedding Meatball Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced small (1 cup)
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced small (1½ cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium (6”) zucchini, diced small (3–4 cups)
- ¼ bunch kale, chopped (1 cup)
- 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¾ pound balsamic herb meatballs
- 3 cups cooked whole wheat orzo
Instructions
- Make ahead: ¾ pound balsamic herb meatballs *from Meal #1
- Make ahead: 3 cups cooked orzo *see prep guide
- Make ahead: Cut vegetables (onion, carrots, zucchini, kale)
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add in onions, carrots, garlic, zucchini, and kale. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add Herbes, salt, pepper, and broth and bring to simmer.
- Add in meatballs and cooked orzo and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until warmed through.
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