Italian Wedding Soup
Italian wedding soup gets its name from the marriage of meat and greens. Use lean ground beef, pork, or lamb.
Prep Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 10 mins
Servings:
Makes 6 main-dish servings.
Ingredients
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1 large onion
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3 oil-packed dried tomatoes, finely snipped
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2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning, crushed
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1 pound lean ground beef
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1 egg, slightly beaten
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1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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2 teaspoons olive oil
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1 large fennel bulb
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4 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
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6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
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1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
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3/4 cup dried orzo pasta
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5 cups shredded fresh spinach
Directions
1.
Finely chop one-third of the onion; thinly slice remaining onion. In a large bowl, combine chopped onion, dried tomatoes, and 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning. Add ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, and salt; mix well. Shape into 12 meatballs. In a Dutch oven, brown meatballs in hot oil. Carefully drain off fat.
2.
Meanwhile, cut off and discard upper stalks of fennel. If desired, save some of the feathery fennel leaves for a garnish. Remove any wilted outer layers; cut off a thin slice from fennel base. Cut fennel into thin wedges; add to Dutch oven with sliced onion, broth, garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and the black pepper.
3.
Bring to boiling; stir in orzo. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until orzo is tender.
4.
Stir in spinach. If desired, garnish soup with reserved fennel leaves. Makes 6 main-dish servings.
Slow Cooker Method
Prepare meatballs and fennel as above. After browning meatballs, place meatballs and sliced onion in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add fennel, broth, garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and the black pepper. Cover, cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. If using low-heat setting, turn cooker to high-heat setting. Gently stir orzo into soup. Cover; cook 15 minutes more. Stir in spinach. Garnish as above.
Nutrition information
Calories 297, Total Fat 11 g, Saturated Fat 3 g, Cholesterol 83 mg, Sodium 926 mg, Carbohydrate 27 g, Fiber 2 g, Protein 22 g. Exchanges: Vegetable 2, Starch 1, Lean Meat 2, Fat 1.
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet
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