Southern-Style Wedding Soup

What’s with this weather y’all? The temperatures almost feel like we are in the South. Despite what the calendar says (it really is November 6th), it has been unseasonably mild for this time of year. However, we’ve had glimpses of cooler weather to come and a lot of rain. As soon as I feel a chill in the air, my nesting instincts kick in. I start bringing out the fall/winter wardrobe, get the fireplace tuned up and head to the kitchen to cook.

Soup is such great comfort food, especially on cool, rainy days. Whatever the recipe, I usually double it so we can eat half for dinner and freeze the other half for another evening. On evenings when I am short on time, I thaw the soup in a pot over the stove and warm up some bread in the toaster oven. It’s so easy to get a meal ready in 15 minutes this way!

Always on the scout for new soup recipes, I came across a recipe in Southern Living magazine for Southern-Style Wedding Soup that looked incredible, and quick. I made it last week and it tasted exactly how I imagined. I made a few substitutions (with the pasta), but the basic recipe is pretty much the same. If you like to freeze soup, freeze the cooked meatballs and soup separately – without the pasta. When reheating, just add fresh pasta/gnocchi for best results.

Southern-Style Wedding Soup, serves 8

Meatballs:

1 Ib. ground sirloin
1 lb. ground pork
1 cup diced yellow onion (from 1 small onion)
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup chopped flat parsley
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. kosher salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Soup:

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion (from 1 small onion)
1 cup chopped celery (I didn’t have on hand)
1 tbsp. sliced garlic cloves
1 tsp. kosher salt
10 cups chicken stock
1/4 basil pesto sauce
1 cup potato gnocchi (their recipe called for ditalini pasta)
4 cups of baby kale (washed and torn into small pieces)

Make the meatballs – Preheat oven to 400° F. Combine first 9 ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Mix gently with hands until incorporated. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a tablespoon, form mixture into meatballs and place on baking sheet. You will want to make 32 meatballs. Bake in preheated oven until cooked through and browned, about 15 minutes. Remove meatballs from oven, cover to keep warm.
Prepare the soup – Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, celery, and salt. Cook until onions have softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Stir in chicken stock and pesto. Reduce heat to medium, simmer until celery is tender about 15 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high, bring to a boil and add gnocchi. Cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in kale until wilted, about 2 minutes. Ladle 1 & 1/2 cups of soup to 8 bowls, add 4 meatballs to each bowl and top with shaved Parmesan cheese. Served immediately with warm, crusty bread.