Lavanda's Italian Wedding Soup

servings: 8-16 (4-5 qts)

prep time: 15 min

cook time: 45 min

Ingredients:

• Fully cooked meatballs*
• Olive oil
  • We use basil infused olive oil from MN Olive Oil Co in Glenwood, MN
• 1 whole white onion (finely chopped)
• 3 tbsp finely minced garlic
• 2 large carrots (small diced)
• 2 sticks celery (chopped)
• 10 cups chicken broth
• 8oz (roughly 1 cup) of Acini di Pepe pasta
• Salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tsp fresh or dried basil
• 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1. Place a medium to large soup pot or stock pot on medium heat and coat the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil.
2. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs to the pan to brown them. If using frozen meatballs, bake them in the oven first to ensure they are at a safe internal temperature. If making baked homemade meatballs, do not brown them. Instead, sear them in the soup pot.
3. Leave the meatballs in the pot and add the onions, garlic, and a dash of salt, and stir occasionally. You may need to add more oil at this stage to keep everything from sticking to the pot.
4. Cook down the onions and garlic for 6-7 minutes until they are soft and beginning to brown.
5. 5. Add the carrots and celery. Stir and let cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. 6. Add the broth, parsley, basil, black pepper, and white pepper.
7. 7. Bring to a boil and add in the Acini di Pepe pasta. Leave to boil for 9 minutes and then bring down to a low heat. Add the bay leaf and let simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft, adding salt to taste while the soup simmers.
8. 8.Serve and enjoy!
9. Additional Notes:
10. *Want to add some more veggies? We recommend adding 1 cup of spinach or kale for some
11. more greens!
12. **Dehydrated Acini di Pepe pasta soaks up a good amount of moisture as it sits. Keep an extra container of broth on hand to add to the soup while serving or reheating!

*For Lavanda's Italian Wedding Soup, we use turkey meatballs (and recommend The Recipe Critic's (https://therecipecritic.com/baked-turkey-meatballs/ recipe), but any meatballs (store-bought or homemade) will do!