After explaining to my British counterpart what wedding soup was, of course I had to make it. While I had my grandmother’s recipe, the laborious mini meatballs were instead subbed for Ina’s big guns. So here we are. Rather than top with extra parmesan, I elected to make a garlic bread for dunking in the golden, cozy goodness. I’ve made some tweaks on the ratios, but you really can’t screw this one up, so use whatever is lying around.

Ina’s Wedding Soup

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1 lb. of ground sausage
• 1 1/3 c. dried breadcrumbs
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 T. fresh parsley
• 1/2 c. grated Pecorino
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• 6 T. milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Salt & pepper

For the soup:

• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 c. carrot, diced
• 1 c. celery, diced
• 10 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. white wine
• 1.5 c. small pasta
• 12oz. baby spinach

1. In advance if you like, combine all meatball ingredients together. Mix well, but do not over mix.
2. On parchment lined baking trays, drop 1″ meatballs and bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.
3. While your meatballs bake, in a large pot heat the olive oil over medium heat.
4. Saute onion, carrot, and celery until somewhat tender, about 5 minutes.
5. Pour in chicken stock and wine, bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to simmering and add in the pasta, allow to cook until just before al dente.
7. Stir in the spinach until just wilted, about one minute.
8. Stir in the meatballs.
9. Serve immediately.

Note: Upon reheat, the soup may require more broth to be added.