Homemade Italian Wedding Soup- With Modern Shortcuts

Italian Wedding Soup is a staple of Italian cuisine and a well-known comfort food for those of us with an Italian heritage. At least near me in Northeast Ohio, there isn't a pizza shop or Italian restaurant that doesn't list this on their menu but not all wedding soup is created the same. Below, I am going to share with you my family's traditional wedding soup recipe along with some modern time savers that do not skimp the taste well also not having you slave in the kitchen for days. I will also list the traditional methods should you prefer this though. 

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground beef
• whole boneless skinless chicken breast (variations would be a whole fryer chicken)
• 2 large 48oz cans of chicken broth (I used low sodium due to my mom's dietary restrictions; salt can be added individually to each bowl if preferred.)
• 5lb bag flour
• One dozen eggs
• (A small pasta can be used to replace the flour and eggs but is not as authentic to a southern Italian style soup)
• 2 bundles each of endive and escarole
• Salt and Pepper to taste (optional)

Steps:

I begin by making parts of the soup that can be made ahead but this is optional. The only step that has to be in order is to have the chicken cooked to start the broth before adding the other parts in.

For the meatballs:

The old method of making this part of the soup was to roll 1/2 size small meatballs and either bake them in the oven or fry them on the stovetop. 

My modern shortcut that does not affect the flavor is to simply pinch of small pieces from the pound of ground beef (about the size of the tip of your thumb) and place them on a paper plate. I then put these in the microwave for 1 minute. This cooks them enough to place them in the soup later, where they will cook more, without drying them out. Using the paper plates minimizes the mess later. Simply throw them away!

I made these the night before to save time the next day, but this is not necessary.

For the chicken/ start of the broth:

This is a step that must be done at the beginning of the process to begin to create the broth, regardless of which method you choose to use.

The old method for this is to buy a whole fryer chicken. You then boil the chicken in a large both submerged in water until the chicken begins to fall apart. Once the chicken is cooked you strain the chicken and fat out of the water, keeping the water into another pot to be the broth base. 

The chicken then needs to be trimmed and deboned. Set aside the pieces of chicken to add in later.

A second method would be to use an already cooked rotisserie chicken. If choosing this method, you will not have a broth base and will need to add more canned broth to the soup. This still requires deboning and rimming the chicken.

Not being a fan of dark meat or the act of deboning a chicken, my modern method is to just buy a whole boneless chicken breast instead and cook this down. 

Regardless of your chicken choice, with the exception of using a cooked rotisserie chicken, you will know the chicken is done when the meat begins to fall apart and there is a scum-like layer in the pan as below. 

Again, make sure to strain the liquid into your stock pan to create the base of your broth.

To this broth base, add 2 48oz cans of chicken broth to your base (add a 3rd can if no base made due to using rotisserie chicken). Then fill those cans with water to add equal amounts of water as well. This is now your broth. I used low sodium broth for a healthier variation. 

Once you have your broth, you can now begin shredding the chicken into small bits. This is a quick and easier process when using skinless boneless chicken breast. If you used a whole chicken, you would need to also be certain to get all of the bones and fat out as well. Leaving too much dark meat also will make for a greasier soup in the end.

Now that the broth is made, you will want to trim and wash the endive and escarole to get this cooking as long as possible in the broth. Traditional Italian greens are endive and escarole but many American versions of this soup use spinach. While you can use spinach, it will be more bitter and not as traditional of a flare.  Add the greens into the broth and begin cooking down on medium heat. 

If you did not already make the meatballs, you can do this now. Since I made those prior though, I am going to begin in on the doughballs. 

For the doughballs: 

I do have a modern shortcut for this step, but many will argue that the modern shortcut would be to just use pasta. While I know most restaurants do this and it is acceptable to use a small pasta such as acini di pepe or ditalini, trust me you won't regret making the doughballs for that more Southern Italy hearty taste. 

To make the doughballs we will begin as you would to make homemade pasta.  Take flour and make a well, crack an egg into the well and begin to work the flour into a dough like form. 

Continue this process until you have used all 5 lbs of flour and a dozen eggs, give or take small portions. 

Take note that to minimize mess on the counters, I did all of the dough work inside a cooking sheet. Once you have you balls of dough, you can pinch off pieces and roll them into small 1/2-1-inch balls or follow the more modern shortcut and roll them out flat. Once the dough is rolled out I took a pizza cutter to cut strips both ways, resulting in small pillow like pieces. I then minimally shaped these puffs by pinching into a "ball" form, though this is not necessary. 

Now that we have our doughballs, either from rolling or cutting, we need to cook them. 

To cook by the traditional method, heat a large pan of frying oil on the stove top. Once the oil is bubbly, add ladle fulls of the dough balls in to fry. Fry until slightly golden.

For a modern shortcut, preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees. Place doughballs in a single layer and cook each batch for 3 minutes. 

Once all of the parts of the soup are made, add them to the broth with the cooking greens. Add in the meatballs, shredded chicken, and doughballs. At this point also you can add salt and pepper to taste should you so desire. Bring the soup up to a good boil and then lower to medium low heat for hours. Stir occasionally. You will know the soup is ready when the greens are tender and the doughballs puff up to the top from absorbing the broth.

Once ready, scoop out a bowlful and enjoy. I prefer to add sprinkle Romano cheese into mine, but this is optional as well. Serve with some garlic toast or fresh Italian bread. This soup is hearty enough to eat on its own though. The soup can remain in the fridge for up to 4 days. Leftovers can also be frozen but be warned that once thawed the greens will change the color to a green hue which may make you think it is no good. 

Let me know down in the comments if you try this recipe and which variation you use. Also be sure to subscribe to receive notice of new posts. 

Italians and Cemeteries!

It may seem like an odd dynamic and by the title of this post you may expect it more during Halloween than Memorial Day weekend.... but hear me out! As I took my grandma and my mom to the cemeteries in preparation of the holiday weekend, it occurred to me there is some strange connection and difference from other cultures that Italian Americans have with visiting cemeteries. 

Before my Grandpa Joe even passed, he would make my mother and her sister acutely aware that he must be buried in Lowellville with "his people" like he believed they'd visit each other at night. Well, he got his wish and many of his family and friends are nearby. I can't help but wonder if they really are out visiting at night. 

My mom believes based on the instilled values form her grandparents that to not care for an ancestorial grave is actually a mortal sin! My grandma as well, despite not walking well would never miss a year if she is still alive of taking flowers and crosses to the graves of family members passed. If she isn't able to walk over, she will gladly supervise from the car window. 

Why is all of this craziness? I view it as a sign of respect but have to admit that certain aspects are taken to extreme. If the county didn't cut the grass fast enough, folks will be wondering around with weedwhackers, cutting their own plots even! The Italian American cemetery before Memorial Day has more visitors than the county fair, I swear! These traditions began back in Italy as well though, so this is really nothing new. If a town doesn't have an actual Italian American cemetery as well, it isn't hard to find the Italian graves dispersed throughout.... just look for Saint statues, especially of the Madonna, vigil lights, and immaculately kept grounds with edge stones and mulch and possibly even a bench. 

While we speak on the cemetery of Lowellville, we can't ignore the cultural custom of inspecting gravesite on Memorial Day! This has to be an Italian thing! I cannot think of another local cemetery where the living in the town will walk around on Memorial Day after the celebration honoring veterans just to see which families cleaned up the graves for the summer! What shame it would be on your family and looks you would get in town if your ancestors plots were not impeccable by Memorial Day! Hence the reason for my visit today! Must get the gravesites in shape... and who knows maybe it isn't even the townsfolk who talk but maybe the spirits visiting each other at night have a thing or two to say to each other about their descendants' caretaker skills as well. Hopefully, they think I did a good job! 

None of this is new in the Italian culture though. It is just what you do and a part of the heritage... maybe not a well-known part but a huge part, nonetheless. While Memorial Day is by the far biggest of this traditional (probably because it is the "spring cleaning"), it is also very customary to ensure Christmas wreaths are placed, palm is left at Easter, and reverence is paid for All Soul's Day as well. So as long as my heritage continues, I'll be visiting the cemetery... Leave a grave unattended?  ....Fuhgettaboutit!

St. Joseph's Day Dinner

 Just as in year's past I am celebrating St. Joseph's Day with my family. It falls on March 19th each year after the drunken haze of St. Pat's celebrations are well behind us. 

St. Joseph's Day has been celebrated by Italians since the Middle Ages. There was a major drought in Southern Italy and Sicily.  They prayed to St. Joseph for rain and the rain came saving the fava bean crop while other crops failed which kept them from starvation. As they prayed they said that if they were to be spared then they would celebrate a feast in the Saint's name every year to remember the miracle.  Depending on the region of Italy one is from they may celebrate a little differently but it is always a Lentin meal.

There are also always a few elements in every St. Joseph's Day display that are a must.  Lilies are always present as are doves.  Before Joseph was with Mary, he was suitor for the Blessed Mother and like every other suitor in the village he left a wooden staff to show his intentions outside her door. In the morning the staff left by Joseph had blossomed from the top into beautiful while lilies and doves flew from the staff. Mary knew he was the suitor to choose due to this and ever since we have associated these symbols with Joseph. Joseph also was a carpenter so wood is another essential element and just as the Irish have their St. Pat's green, it is red that is associated with St. Joseph.

While not as elaborate as some table scapes in Southern Italy, I made sure to still include all of the elements. I used red cloth napkins as a runner down the center of the table. I took three small bud vases to run down the table using olive branches on the outside but included the white lilies in the center vase. A small statue of St. Joseph and ceramic doves are of course also included.  For dishes, I used a mixture of my fine china with gold leave edge, green depression glass and fire king. 

My grandfather on my mom's side was "Grandpa Joe" and he always held St. Joseph's Day dear.  I chose to use the Fire King dishes because this light mint green was his favorite color. I think the mix of red, white and green gave an added Italian flair as well. 

Comment below, what ethnic traditions does your family celebrate that may not be mainstream?