Italian Wedding Soup (Lightened)

Yummy yummy soup

 One of Katie's favorite soups is Italian wedding soup. I think it is the perfect soup for a cold winter's day. It is not quite winter but it is cold outside. Not just cold but it is a damp cold. The kind of cold that goes right through you. The cure for this kind of weather is a nice hearty soup. Italian wedding soup is just that and it is a meal in a bowl.
The Italian name for this soup is Minestra Maritata. It means "married soup." It is not a soup for wedding but the marriage of greens and meat. And what a marriage it is!
My mom has been making this soup since I was little. I love her recipe and soup, but I was in the mood for something a bit different. So, I decided to shake things up and change the traditional soup. Here is a more traditional recipe. My favorite part is the meatballs. I do not want a bland meatball so I decided to use beef and pork. Yum!  

Minestra Maritata "Wedding Soup"

Meatballs

1 lb (.45 kg) of Ground Beef
1 lb (.45 kg) of Ground Pork
2 Slices of White Bread with Crust Soaked in 1/4 Cup (60 ml) of Milk
1 Large Egg, Beaten
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
1 Tsp of Kosher Salt
1/2 Tsp of Black Pepper
1/4 Cup (30 g) Parmesan Cheese, Grated
1/4 Cup  (20 g) Flat Leaf Parsley, Chopped

Mix all of the ingredients together and shape into meatballs (use about 1 1/2 teaspoons- it should be about the size of a small pecan).

All of the ingredients in a bowl

Some people bake their meatballs before adding them to the soup so that they brown. I don't but you certainly can.  I use about half of the recipe in the soup and the remainder I bake at 400F/204C/Gas Mark 6 for 20 minutes turning once and use in other recipes or freeze.

All kinds of meatballs

The Soup

3 Quarts (3 liters) of Broth (Turkey or Chicken)
1 lb (.45 kg) of Meatballs
1/2 lb (.22 kg) of Small Noodles
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
2 Handfuls of Spinach
1 Handful of Arugula
1 Handful of Swiss Chard

Heat up the broth over medium high heat.

Turkey broth

Bring broth to a boil and lower to a simmer. Carefully drop the meatballs into the broth and add the garlic. Do not stir or the meatballs will break up. Cook until the meatballs are done about 20 minutes.  Add the noodles and cook until done. Add the spinach, arugula, and Swiss chard. Cook until tender.

Greens and meatballs

The bottom line: will I make this again? I love this and I will make this again. The fresh greens add a lot to this soup.