Italian Wedding Soup- a happy marriage of great ingredients

This soup is a happy marriage of great ingredients: meatballs, noodles, green and eggs.  You get to choose which of these ingredients to invite!

If I am freezing my soup, I use noodles; if I am serving right away, I use eggs- poured in to form beautiful ribbons in the soup...

Well worth the effort, it is a crowd pleaser.

This recipe will serve four to six.

Ingredients
For the meatballs:
1/2 cup      finely chopped onion

1/3 cup      chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp.         minced garlic
1 tsp.         kosher salt
1/2 tsp.      freshly ground black pepper
1 cup         fresh bread crumbs made from rustic white bread
1/2 cup      freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
6 oz.          ground beef (85% lean), home-ground or store-bought
6 oz.          ground pork or Italian sausages, removed from the casings
1/4 lb.        ground veal or turkey
1/2 cup      orzo or a handful of good quality egg noodles

For the soup
3 quarts     homemade chicken stock or best quality canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb.           spinach or curly endive, washed and coarsely chopped
2 large eggs
2 Tbs.        freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Make the meatballs for the soup

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mixing quickly and gently. Do not overmix, or the meatballs will be rubbery. Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. (You should have 22 to 24 meatballs.)

Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and spinach (or curly endive), reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and the escarole is tender, 5 to 8 minutes.

While the meatballs and greens are cooking, whisk the eggs and cheese in a medium bowl to blend (if using). Turn off the heat and, stirring the soup in one direction, drizzle in the egg mixture to form thin ribbons of egg. Or, if you prefer, add noodles (either orzo or good quality egg noodles).  Cook the noodles in the soup until al dente (approximately 5 minutes), then turn off the heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, dividing the meatballs evenly. Garnish each serving with cheese and some parsley.

Enjoy!