Loving Spoonfuls
Little Bits Find Bliss in Wedding Soup By Andie Marshall Photos by Christina Richey
Marshall is a home cook whose fondness for soup began when she was a working mom. With soups, she always had nutritious, homemade and reheatable meals on hand.
Making this Italian wedding soup—a combination of leafy greens, mini meatballs and tiny pasta—motivates me to visit local butchers and markets in the spring. There are rainy and chilly days still ahead, but at the farmers’ market you can find an early crop of spinach to add the right amount of freshness to this soup. Any dark leafy green, like kale or chard, would work, too. Here’s how this recipe came to be: The Italian wedding soup served at a local restaurant is a favorite of our oldest granddaughter. Despite valiant efforts, I have failed to get the recipe, so I have worked over the years to duplicate it. Originally, I used Italian sausage for the meatballs, but I made the switch to a combination of chicken and chicken sausage for a healthier, leaner soup. Making the meatballs from scratch is a worthy extra step. Use a small melon ball scoop to shape uniformly sized meatballs—it’s easier and cleaner than rolling them by hand. Warm, crusty Italian bread is a perfect pairing for this soup.
Where to get the goods For fresh, locally sourced chickens and chicken sausage, try area butchers like Moody’s Butcher Shop (locations in Avon and Zionsville, moodymeats.com) and Goose the Market (at 25th and Delaware streets, www.goosethemarket.com). Find leafy greens at the Indy Winter Farmers’ Market (at the downtown Indianapolis City Market, www.indywinterfarmersmarket.org) and the Bloomington Winter Farmers’ Market (www.localgrowers.org/wintermarket.html).
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edible indy
Spring 2012
