Italian Wedding Soup

Every country has its wedding food. This one comes from Italy — though the name is a mistranslation. Minestra maritata means “married soup,” and it refers to the marriage of greens and meat in the bowl, not to any wedding.

Either way, it is made from things you probably already have.

Serves 6

Ingredients

For the soup

8 cups chicken stock
1 bunch spinach
3/4 cup acini di pepe or stelline pasta
Salt and black pepper

For the meatballs

10 oz ground beef
1 medium onion
1 egg
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 clove garlic
Salt
Black pepper

Method

Start with the meatballs. Grate the onion, chop the parsley and crush the garlic.

In a bowl, combine the grated onion, egg, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Add the ground beef and Parmesan and work the mixture together — but stop as soon as it comes together. Overworked meat makes tough meatballs.

Roll into small balls, no bigger than a marble. They should fit on a spoon with the pasta.

Arrange them on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate while you prepare the rest. Chilled meatballs hold their shape in the broth.

Clean the spinach well and chop it coarsely — not too fine, you want to see it in the bowl.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a pot.

Add the meatballs and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until they float and are cooked through.

Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Add the spinach in the last 2 minutes. It wilts almost instantly and turns dull if you cook it longer.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot with extra Parmesan at the table.

Chef’s note

If you are making this ahead, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl at service. Left in the broth it keeps swelling and by the next day you have a stew instead of a soup.