As the weather and market offerings change, it's time to embrace soup season! As author Kate DiCamillo wisely said, "There ain't no point in making soup unless others eat it." Inspired to share the warmth and labor of a big bowl of soup with our farmers' market community, we pooled recipes and bonded over our bowls. PCFMA presents: Soup-A-Palooza 2025—a collection of staff soup recipes and the stories behind them
This recipe comes to us from Stella, one of our stellar Marketing Specialists. Here's what she had to say about it:
"My Oma and Opa are German but learned to cook via Italy, and they love to make Italian wedding soup with fresh meatballs from their local butcher!"
Meatballs:
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs or panko
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- olive oil, for forming the meatballs
Soup:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 medium carrots, diced
- 2-3 large celery ribs, diced
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- kosher salt, black pepper
- 8 cups (2 quarts) chicken broth
- 1/2 cup acini di pepe, ditalini or orzo
- 3 cups baby spinach, packed
- grated Parmesan, for serving
Make the meatballs: Crack the egg into a large bowl and beat it lightly with a fork. Add the beef, pork, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly, until incorporated. Coat your hands with olive oil, then form small meatballs using 1 heaping teaspoon of the mixture per meatball; transfer to a plate or sheet pan. You should have about 80 (1-inch) meatballs.
Make the soup: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the meatballs in 2 batches, turning occasionally, until mostly browned all over, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt (or 2 teaspoons if you’re using low-sodium broth), and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Return the meatballs to the pot, add the broth, and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the pasta, lower the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach until wilted. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. (The broth should taste pleasantly salty.)
Serve hot, topped with Parmesan. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as the soup sits; you may need to add broth when reheating. Soup will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.
