Whiteley Creek Homestead

Bruce and Irene, some friends from Bismark, North Dakota stopped by for a wee visit, so I prepared Italian Wedding Soup and baked a loaf of honey whole wheat oatmeal bread to serve them. It was a new soup recipe that I ran across on bread-and-honey's blog. Several days later I discovered a lightened up version in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine, so I combined the two recipes and threw in a bit of my own twist, as well, by adding additional seasonings.  It was very flavorful. (I selected a package of free-range, nongrowth-hormone, and nonantibiotic raised chicken breasts and requested the meat department to grind it for me but, if you can find nitrate-free Italian sausage, you can use that.) I would make smaller balls next time. Since returning home, Irene has made it twice for company and it was a big hit both times. 

 

Italian Wedding Soup

1 lb mild Italian chicken sausage (If using ground turkey breast or chicken breast, season with ¾ tsp salt, ¾ tsp ground sage, ¾ tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp pepper, and a dash ground red pepper.) When Irene made it, she added a little crushed fennel seed and made the meatballs without any filler (garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, and Parmesan).

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ cup dried breadcrumbs

¼ cup Parmesan

 1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

32 oz chicken stock (or broth)

2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced or stewed tomatoes in juice

¾ tsp thyme

½ tsp leaf oregano

½ tsp rosemary (or marjoram)

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

carrots, sliced

celery stalks, chopped

zucchini, diced

Large handful fresh kale roughly chopped, or fresh spinach

In a bowl, combine Italian sausage (or ground turkey or chicken breast with additional seasoning added), garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, and Parmesan. Roll mixture into small balls then brown in olive oil. In a large pot, heat a little oil then add onion, stirring occasionally until slightly translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes (with juice), thyme, oregano, rosemary, (or marjoram), and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer then add meatballs, carrots, celery, and zucchini; cover and cook without stirring until carrots are tender but firm. Add kale or spinach in the final 5 minutes of cooking time until wilted.