Italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs

With meatballs, pasta, beans, vegetables and leafy greens, this comforting soup is perfect when you’re cooking for someone who’s not feeling well, or when you just want a nourishing bowl to tuck into.

Italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs. Credit: Mary Makes It Easy / Geoff George

• serves

  6

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Meatballs

• Olive oil
• 1 slice sandwich bread
• ¼ cup (60 ml) milk
• 1 egg
• ¼ red onion, finely minced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 500 g ground turkey
• ¾ cup (60 g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 ½ tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 2 tsp finely chopped oregano
• ¼-½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Soup

• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• ¾ red onion, sliced into thin wedges
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• ½ fennel bulb, diced
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ¼-½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2½ litres low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup (100 g) short soup pasta, such as acini de pepe, orzo, or alphabet pasta
• 4 large handfuls dark leafy greens, roughly chopped
• ½ cup (40 g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• ¼ cup parsley, chopped
• ½ lemon, juice

Instructions

1. For the meatballs, heat oven to 200°C (400°F) and lightly coat a tray (sheet pan) sheet pan with oil.
2. Tear the bread into small pieces and add into a large bowl along with the milk. Stir to combine and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the bread to soak up the milk and break down slightly.
3. Add in the egg, onion and garlic and beat to combine. Add in the turkey, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Using two forks or your fingers almost like rakes, mix just until well combined. Scoop scant-tablespoon-sized mounds of the mixture onto the sheet pan then roll into small meatballs. You want them to be smaller than a ping pong ball. If the mixture is a bit sticky, simply dampen your hands with water every so often – this will keep the mixture from sticking to your hands.
4. Roast the meatballs for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom and cooked through.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the soup. Place a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat and add in about a 3 teaspoons of oil. Add the onion, carrots and fennel and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened and lightly caramelised. Add in the beans, garlic and red pepper flakes and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes or until the beans start to pick up a little colour and their skins begin to burst.
6. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Carefully pour in the broth, add the meatballs, and bring to a boil. If you have a rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese hanging around, you can add it now too. It will give the soup some extra flavour. When the soup comes to a boil, add in the pasta and cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables and pasta are tender.
7. In the last few minutes of cooking, stir in the greens to wilt. Just before serving, stir through the Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley and lemon juice. Serve with big shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.