This recipe for Italian Wedding Soup is passed down through the generations from my Italian grandparents. I always make it for Christmas dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- ½ bunch celery, leafy green part
- 1 teaspoon salt or so
- 8 or so whole peppercorns
- 3–4 bunches Italian endive (curly green leafy, looks like kale) (NOT Belgian endive)
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1–2 eggs
- 2 cloves garlic
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 3 more eggs (to use later)
- parmesan cheese (also for later)
Directions
- Rinse chicken with cold water, add to large pot with ingredients in first part and fill the pot with COLD water to cover plus a few inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for several hours.
- Drain broth through a colander SAVING the broth. Discard celery and let the chicken cool. Return the broth to a large pot.
- Shred chicken white meat only (breast) with a serrated knife and add to the broth.
- Meatballs, make these whole the broth is cooking. Add all ingredients in from the second part (meat to breadcrumbs), adding about 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese. If the meat is too moist to form into meatballs add more breadcrumbs. From into tiny meatballs and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Add the meatballs to the broth.
- Wash endive carefully, in cold water. Cook in large pot until tender. Rinse in cold water. Squeeze out water. Chop very fine. Add to broth.
- Simmer all about 1 hour.
- Right before serving:
Beat 3 eggs in a bowl and add about 3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese. While constantly stirring the hot soup (be sure it’s not too hot- not boiling temp.) with a wooden spoon, slowly add the egg mixture.
