Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Wedding Soup

Makes 8 servings

Meatball Ingredients

2 Eggs

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1.5 pounds meatloaf mix

¾ cup plain dry gf bread crumbs

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons olive oil

Soup

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 heads escarole or curly endive, coarsely chopped

8 cups chicken broth

1 can (about 14 ounces) Italian plum tomatoes chopped, juice reserved

3 fresh thyme sprigs

1 tsp salt

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 cup uncooked acini pepe pasta (I used gf ditalini)

1. For meatballs, whisk eggs, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp salt and black pepper in large bowl until blended. Stir in meat loaf mix, bread crumbs and cheese; mix gently until well blended. Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into 1 inch balls.

2. Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook meatballs in batches 5 minutes or until browned. Remove to plate, set aside.

3. I Cook Gluten free pasta separate from soup and then I rinse and add in step 5.

4. For Soup, add onion, carrots and 4 cloves garlic to saucepan; cook and stir 5 minutes or until onion is lightly browned. Add escarole, cook 2 min or until wilted. Stir in broth, tomatoes with juice, thyme, 1 tsp salt and red pepper flakes, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium- low; cook 15 min.

5. Add meatballs and pasta (if using regular pasta no need to precook and rinse) to soup; return to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Remove thyme sprigs before serving.