Pittsburgh Wedding Soup

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‘Tis the season — soup season, that is!

Everyone seems to have their own family recipe for at least one kind of soup, from chicken noodle to chili con carne. My family recently made a big pot of Pittsburgh Wedding Soup, tweaking the recipe a bit to use escarole, as my late father-in-law would, rather than the kale that’s recommended by America’s Test Kitchen in the new cookbook Big Flavors from Italian America: Family-Style Favorites from Coast to Coast.

America’s Test Kitchen bills wedding soup as a Western Pennsylvania favorite. In this recipe, the Test Kitchen calls for poaching the meatballs in the chicken broth, which saves time and adds flavor. Anything that saves time when getting dinner on the table sounds good to me, and the soup’s flavor was perfect. In addition to using escarole, rather than kale, I added extra red pepper flakes to my bowl of soup to increase the spicy kick!

Ingredients for the meatballs:

  • 2 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I omitted this)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 pound meatloaf mix (I used ground beef only, which I had on hand)

Ingredients for the soup:

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 3 quarts chicken broth
  • 1 large head kale or Swiss chard, stemmed, leaves chopped (I used escarole)
  • 1 cup orzo (I used ditalini, which I had on hand)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I omitted this)

Meatball directions:

  1. Using a potato masher, mash bread and milk together in large bowl until smooth.
  2. Add remaining ingredients, except meatloaf mix, and mash until well combined.
  3. Add meatloaf mix and knead by hand until well combined.
  4. Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs (you should have about 55 meatballs) and arrange on a rimmed baking sheet.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. (Meatballs can be made up to 24 hours in advance.)

Soup directions:

  1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook garlic and pepper flakes until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  2. Add broth and bring to boil.
  3. Stir in kale and simmer until softened 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Stir in meatballs and orzo, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
  5. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste. 

The cookbook includes a brief history of Italian heritage in America. Chapters include Appetizers and Snacks (with recipes such as caponata, stuffed mushrooms and mozzarella sticks), Sandwiches, Soups and Salads (including Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches, white bean soup and chopped Caprese salad ), Pizza and More (including Philadelphia tomato pie, Sicilian style pizza, and spinach ricotta calzones ), Pasta Night (including spaghetti carbonara, chicken riggies — a rigatoni dish — and shrimp piccata pasta), Easy Weekday Meals (including chicken Vesuvio, Rao’s lemon chicken, shrimp fra diavolo, and steak pizzaiola), Sunday Suppers and Celebrations (including braciole, hearty beef lasagna and baked manicotti ), Sides and Breads (including Pittsburgh beans and greens, stuffed tomatoes and garlic knots), and Desserts (including tiramisu, zeppoles and chocolate salami ).

Big Flavors from Italian America: Family-Style Favorites from Coast to Coast is available upon request here, or by calling Whitehall Public Library at 412-882-6622.