Italian Wedding Soup

Contest #6 Soup

Recipe Creator: Stacey McCarthy

Ingredients:

4 qts chicken broth or stock (home-made or purchased)

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

8 cups baby spinach

1 cup basil leaves, torn

½ cup freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

6 cloves of garlic

1 small can of diced tomatoes, undrained

½ lb of pasta (ditalini, bowtie, penne or your favorite pasta)

Mini meatballs: (recipe follows)

½ lb ground beef (may substitute ground turkey)

½ lb ground pork (may substitute ground turkey)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 c freshly grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

Approximately 1 cup of bread crumbs (add until mixture comes together nicely)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook pasta until al dente and keep in a container on the side. The pasta will be added to individual bowls.

In a large stock pot, sauté onions, carrots, and celery until softened. Add garlic and sauté another minute.

Add 4 quarts of stock and can of diced tomatoes to the vegetables and bring to a simmer.

Mix ingredients for meatballs and form into ½ in balls. Drop them into simmering stock, stir gently, cover pot, and remove from heat. Let sit covered for 10 minutes.

Assembly:

Add pasta, baby spinach, and some of the broth/vegetable/meatball mixture to a soup bowl. Stir to combine. The spinach should wilt from the heat.

Garnish with torn basil leaves and grated cheese.

Meet The Chef:

Hi my name is Stacey, my husband and I moved to Southington 23 years ago, one month before our oldest daughter was born. When we were looking for a house, my husband suggested Southington and since the only thing I knew about Southington was Lake Compounce and Queen Street, my response was, "Southington? What's in Southington?" Now I know what's in Southington... A great community of awesome people that come together to do amazing things.   I've always loved food and started cooking dinner every night with my dad when my mom started working when I was 10. The Wedding Soup was my variation of a soup that my grandmother made when I was little.

For the past five years, I have been working as a photographer that specializes in high school seniors and weddings.  In addition to portraits and weddings, I have a food feature in the Southington, Bristol, and Plainville Observer that combines my love of food with my love of photography.  My husband and three children have been a huge support and are frequent photography assistants.