Italian wedding soup, or just wedding soup, has become more familiar to Americans of late, particularly to those outside of major cities in the Northeastern region of the country (especially Western PA and Eastern OH) where large Italian-American communities exist. In fact, now you will likely find it in just about any supermarket, in the canned food section. 

The Italian name, minestra maritata, means "married  soup" and has been mistranslated to  "wedding soup". Originating in Southern Italy, minestra maritata referred to the fact that the flavors of meat and greens married, or went well with each other . While not traditionally used in wedding ceremonies, this soup, along with other vegetable soups generated in Roman times, were thought to stave off hunger and possess curative properties. The French verb"restaurer" means "restore" and thus, public restaurants were initially places where soup was served to restore the health of the customers. And fill their bellies, of course.

There are many versions of Italian wedding soup. Basic ingredients include meat (usually meatballs), greens and chicken broth.  Additions such as egg, cheese and pasta can be made. Greens can range from escarole, to spinach and kale or broccoli rabe. Here, I make a simple version using fresh, beautiful escarole from the Dupont Market along with tender meatballs made with pecorino romano cheese.

This recipe makes a lot of meatballs. It's hard to make just a handful! You can do what I did and make half of the meatballs small for the soup, and the other half regular (golf ball) size for later use. Leftover meatballs not being used immediately can be frozen on a lined baking sheet (topped with plastic wrap), then transferred to a sealed zipped baggie.

Italian Wedding Soup

serves 8

Ingredients

• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth in box, or use homemade
• 1 medium to large head escarole- green part only, cut into thin strips
• 2 1/2 lbs. meatloaf mix (veal, pork and beef)*
• 2/3 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons half and half
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• pinch nutmeg
• kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, place ground meat and remaining ingredients. Mix gently with hands until incorporated. Avoid over working the mixture as the meatballs will become tough.

Roll individual meatballs gently, by hand, into 1 inch balls and place them on a parchment lined pan(s), or on top of a non-stick sprayed broiler pan(s) to allow grease to drip down and away from the meatballs.

Place pan in oven on middle rack, and bake for 20 minutes. While meatballs are baking, bring chicken broth to a simmer.

Remove meatballs and drain on paper towels. Blot tops of meatballs to remove excess grease.

Add meatballs to chicken stock, about 4-6 meatballs per person. Add escarole and bring soup back to a simmer. Cover and continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with grated pecorino cheese.

Store remaining meatballs covered in the refrigerator for further use, or freeze as mentioned above.

*Meatloaf mix can often be found in supermarkets. If you can not find meatloaf mix, you can use ground beef (80/20 mix) or a mixture of ground beef and ground pork.