GRANDMA'S ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP RECIPES

Steps:

• Prepare soup:.
• Place chicken in a large stock pot with just enough cold water to cover.
• Slowly bring to a boil and skim off the brown foam that rises to the surface.
• Once the brown foam subsides, add the rest of the ingredients except the salt and pepper.
• Boil chicken gently for approximately 2-3 hours until the meat is falling off the bone and the vegetables are very soft.
• Strain the meat and vegetables from the broth.
• Pull meat off the bones and break into spoon sized pieces and return to the broth.
• Finely mince the carrot and return that to the broth. Set aside.
• Prepare meatballs:.
• In a food processor add the eggs, garlic and parsley. Pulse on and off until minced but not a complete emulsion. You want very fine pieces.
• In a large bowl add the three ground meats and top with the egg mixture and salt and pepper.
• With your hands, begin to work the meats together with the egg.
• Add cheese and some of the breadcrumbs.
• Add as much or as little breadcrumb that you need until the mixture is somewhat moist, holds together, and not too dry.
• Roll mixture into small meatballs approx the same diameter as a quarter.
• In a medium sized saucepan, bring about 2 cups of the college inn chicken broth to a simmer.
• Drop the little meatballs into the college inn and poach until cooked through (about 3 minutes) remove with a slotted spoon and add to reserved soup. Continue until all the meatballs are cooked.
• Strain liquid left over in saucepan through cheesecloth and add to the soup that now has meatballs and chicken pieces in it.
• In another large stockpot, bring a large amount of salted water to a rolling boil.
• Add the thoroughly washed escarole to the water and allow to return to a boil.
• Cook until bright green slightly tender (don’t overcook here in the water) remove with a large slotted spoon or strain into a colander.
• Add to stock pot with soup. Add remaining college inn to the soup (enough to cover all ingredients in pot) and bring to a simmer.
• Add additional 1/3 cup locatelli to simmering soup.
• Tastes best if refrigerated overnight and warmed thoroughly the next day.

Steps:

• Making the chicken broth. Get a big pot, Add Water, Chicken, carrots, celery, chicken boulon cubes, pepper and parsley to a boil and then let simmer for at least about 2 hours. make the "miracle" meatballs....my fave as a round-faced little girl. Mix together (mixing with your hands makes the marriage of flavors work better) a pound of ground turkey (nana used half beef and pork ground), a half cup of finely chopped parsley, 4 cloves of minced garlic, a cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, a half cup of Parmasean cheese, 2 eggs, a teaspoon of salt, and a little milk to make it work as a moist mix of meat that can be rolled into balls. Set aside Enlist your family if they are around, to roll this mix into small meatballs...size between a nickel and a quarter. LOL
• Remove chicken from chicken broth with slotted spoon and set aside in refrigerator to cool. Drop meatballs one by one into broth and continue simmering soup for about a half hour. Check on your chicken in fridge. When cool, cut up the chicken into "soup pieces" and add back to broth. When you add the chicken back....add two bags of fresh spinach or a pound of escarole or a combination of both. Keep the soup on the lowest simmer possible.
• When greens are soupy, add one pound of PASTINA (teeny tiny round egg pastas) or the tiniest pasta tubes you can find, simmer 10 more minutes AND SERVE WITH GRATED PARMASEAN CHEESE AND LOVE.