With the weather changing, along with the offerings at the market, it's time to bust out the big pots and shift into soup season. There is a great quote about soup by American Author Kate DiCamillo that embodies the spirit of the labor that goes into a big cozy bowl of soup: “There ain't no point in making soup unless others eat it. Soup needs another mouth to taste it, another heart to be warmed by it.” Motivated by the promise of tasty soups and stews and the opportunity to share our experience with our farmers' market farm-ily, we pooled our community for recipes and got together to bond over our bowls. I present to you 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 chopped fresh parsley
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 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 chopped yellow onion
- 3 diced medium carrots
- 2-3 diced large celery ribs
- 2 minced large garlic cloves
- Kosher salt, black pepper
- 8 cups (2 quarts) chicken broth
- 1/2 cup acini di pepe, ditalini or orzo
- 3 cups packed baby spinach
- 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, fry 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.