Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

Why have I waited so long to make this? It's absolutely delicious! Is this a soup or is this a stew? Rachel Ray calls it a Stoup! Another great recommendation from my friend Maria. She insist that I stick to using the ground chicken and gnocchi. The mini meatballs are like little chicken dumplings and cook right in the soup. Yes, you can use another type of pasta but it won't have the same special creaminess that you get with the gnocchi. Forget the chili, I'm making this at the next football party. This is a hearty, fresh and delicious Stoup!

Italian Wedding Soup with Chicken Meatballs and Gnocchi.

Mix all meatball ingredients in one bowl.  These cook best right in the soup, no need to bake these.

Chicken meatballs for the soup.  

Saute the vegetables together until soft.  

Simmer together for about 10 minutes. The meatballs stay together nicely.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• dash nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Soup

• 3 Tbls olive oil
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• package shredded carrots
• 6 cups chicken broth (I prefer Swanson low sodium)
• 1 16 oz package of frozen gnocchi 
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/3 cup flat leaf parsley finely chopped (2 handfuls)

Directions

1. To make the meatballs it’s really easy. Just mix all the meatball ingredients together in a big bowl and then shape them into walnut sized meatballs (about 40-45) and set aside while you prepare the soup. 
2. To make the soup, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the celery, onions, carrots and cook 5-7 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the broth, cover the pot and bring to a boil. 
3. Once the soup is at a boil, turn down the heat a little and slowly add the little chicken dumplings and simmer for about 10 minutes than add the gnocchi and simmer for another 5 minutes. Now add the peas and parsley and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. The soup is done when the meatballs and gnocchi are cooked through. 

Best served with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and crusty bread for dipping!