Fabio reveals chef secrets to get restaurant flavor in soups and cooks up a batch of his own decadent, Italian wedding soup for easy freezing. Tips:
- Batch cooking is perfect if you know you want to be lazy in the future! Put in a little time now to have an easy, quick meal or date night later.
- Soups can be hearty, sexy and very easy to make. All you really need are ingredients.
- Caramelizing your veggies in olive oil before adding chicken stock will really deepen the flavors in your soup. Fabio recommends carrots, celery and onions as a great three-veggie base.
- Parmesan in your meatballs helps deepen Italian flavors in the soup.
ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP
Recipe by Fabio Viviani
Yields 6-8 servings of soup
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (80/20)
2 eggs
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
3 quarts chicken broth
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup carrots, diced
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2 cups orzo pasta
½ cup (to taste) extra virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Saute carrots, onion and celery in oil until soft and starting to brown.
While veggies sauté, make the meatballs: mix beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt and pepper in a separate mixing bowl. Form into ½ inch balls, and set on a baking sheet.
Cook meatballs on the baking sheet in 375F degree oven for 12-15 minutes.
Stir in the spinach to the sautéing veggies and let it wilt.
Add chicken stock to veggies.
Let the mixture reduce on high heat.
Add pasta to soup to cook.
When meatballs are cooked, add them to the soup.
Boil 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
MANGIA!
