Hearty Wedding Soup – Minestra Maritata

Hearty Wedding Soup – Minestra Maritata is traditionally served in Italian homes during the holidays, such as Christmas, New Year, and Easter. The delicious combination of meats, vegetables, and broth became known as “Minestra Maritata,”; which lightly translates in Italian to a marriage of meat and veggie.

My recipe today for Hearty Wedding Soup – Minestra Maritata combines nutrient-rich kale, endive, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, quality pork, sausage, chicken, Italian Sponges or Croutons, homemade broth, and the perfect blend of Italian herbs and seasoning to make this a Hearty Wedding Soup you won’t soon forget.

Traditionally Wedding Soup was served on December 26th, on La Festa di Santo Stefano or St. Stephen’s Day, which celebrates the announcement of the birth of Jesus and the arrival of the Three Wise Men. La Festa di Santo Stefano is considered a public holiday in Italy; Italian festivities of the holiday usually extend to January, which is La Festa dell’ Epifania.

Over the years, I have tried many greens in my Minestra Maritata – Wedding Soup, such as endive, escarole, kale, and spinach. I have found that my favorite greens to use are endive and kale. The leaves hold up exceptionally well using endive or kale in the soup.

I’m not a massive fan of restaurant-style Wedding Soup, as it never tastes or looks as flavorful as I would like it to be. The flavor always seems a bit off with the broth, almost commercialized tasting or something. I also like adding sliced carrots, celery, garlic, and onions to my broth, which I notice most establishments omit the extra flavor. Those bright orange carrots and green celery make even more of a perfect marriage between the meat and veggies to me. The perfect broth is the bonus outcome of adding those ingredients.

I was hoping to get this blog post up earlier for you all; I was slacking a little too much during the Christmas Holidays. I hope you will enjoy the recipe for New Year; to cleanse the body of all those beautiful meals consumed with family and friends during your holiday.

Have a Happy and Blessed New Year, friends!

Hearty Wedding Soup – Minestra Maritata

For the Italian sponges/homemade croutons:

• 1/2 cup  of all-purpose flour

• 1/2  cup of seasoned breadcrumbs

• One and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

• One teaspoon of garlic powder

• a dash of kosher salt

• a pinch of coarsely ground black pepper

• Twelve large eggs, lightly beaten

• One cup of fresh-grated Romano cheese

• Two tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley

Directions for Italian Sponges

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Grease a 15 1/2-by-10 1/2-by-1-inch baking sheet. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, seasoned bread crumbs, baking powder, kosher salt, and coarse black pepper.

4. Next, add the 12 eggs to the flour and breadcrumb mixture; beat on low speed with an electric hand mixer until smooth.

5. Stir in the cheese and parsley and pour into the prepared pan.

6. Bake in the center of the oven 12 to 14  minutes or until set and lightly browned.

7. Let cool, then cut into 1-inch squares. Reserve till later.

8. Makes 12 servings

For the meatballs:

• One pound of quality sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

• 1/2 of a pound of veal or extra lean beef

• 2/3 cup fresh seasoned breadcrumbs

• Two cloves of garlic pressed

• 1/4 of a cup of chopped fresh parsley leaves

• 3/4 of a cup of freshly grated Pecorino Romano

• Three tablespoons of  evaporated milk

• One extra-large egg, lightly beaten

• pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

• Kosher salt to own taste

• freshly ground black pepper to your taste

For the Soup:

• Two tablespoons of unsalted butter

• One large onion, chopped

• Three cloves of garlic minced

• Three carrots sliced thinly

• One rib of celery sliced thinly

• 10 cups chicken or vegetable stock

• Two cups of water

• 1/2 cup dry white table wine

• One recipe for meatballs

• Two-6-ounce chicken breasts pre-cooked and diced (optional)

• One recipe for Italian sponges/croutons

• Twenty four-ounces  of fresh kale washed and trimmed

• Twelve ounces of fresh endive washed and trimmed

• Two tablespoons of chopped fresh basil

• Two tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• Kosher salt to own taste

• freshly ground black pepper to your own taste

• Eight ounces of ditalini cooked

• Parmesan cheese to serve

• sharp provolone cheese cubed to serve

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. For the meatballs, place the ground veal, sweet Italian sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino Romano cheese, milk, egg, a pinch of pepper flakes,  salt, and pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork.

3. With a teaspoon, drop 1/2 inch meatballs in hand, lightly roll, and then place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

4. Bake for 25 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

5. In the meantime, heat the unsalted butter in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock or vegetable broth, water, and white tables wine and bring to a light boil.

6. Reduce the heat low and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes.

7. Add the baked meatballs and diced chicken to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Add fresh parsley and basil, then kosher salt and pepper to your taste.

9. Stir in the fresh kale and endive cook for 5-6 minutes until the leaves are wilted.

10. Add cooked ditalini to soup, stir, and let sit for 2 minutes.

11. Ladle into soup bowls, sprinkle each serving with grated Parmesan, and add the desired amount of cubed sharp provolone and Italian sponges to each bowl.

Hearty Wedding Soup – Minestra Maritata

Heidy McCallum

Hearty Wedding Soup-Minestra Maritata is traditionally served in Italian homes during the holidays; such as Christmas, New Years, and even Easter. It’s the delicious combination of meats, vegetables, and broth is how it became known as “Minestra Maritata”; which lightly translates in Italian, to a marriage of meat and veggie.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 12

Calories 480 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Italian sponges/homemade croutons

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 11/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• kosher salt to own taste
• ground black pepper to own taste
• 12 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1 cup fresh-grated Romano cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

For the meatballs

• 1 pound quality sweet Italian sausage casings removed
• 1/2 pound veal or extra lean beef
• 2/3 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 2 cloves garlic pressed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 3 tablespoons evaporated milk
• 1 extra-large egg lightly beaten
• pinch red pepper flakes optional
• Kosher salt to own taste
• freshly ground black pepper to own taste

For the Soup

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 3 carrots sliced thinly
• 1 rib celery sliced thinly
• 10 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry white table wine
• 1 recipe for meatballs
• 2-6- ounce Chicken breasts precooked and diced
• 1 recipe Italian sponges/croutons
• 24- ounces fresh kale washed and trimmed
• 12- ounces fresh endive washed and trimmed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• Kosher salt to own taste
• freshly ground black pepper to own taste
• 8- ounces ditalini cooked
• Parmesan cheese to serve
• sharp provolone cheese cubed to serve

Instructions

 

Directions for Italian Sponges

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Grease a 15 1/2-by-10 1/2-by-1-inch baking sheet. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, seasoned bread crumbs, baking powder, kosher salt, coarse black pepper
• Next, add the 12 eggs to flour and breadcrumb mixture; beat on the low speed with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
• Stir in the cheese and parsley and pour into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the center of the oven 12 to 14 minutes or until set and lightly browned.
• Let cool, then cut into 1-inch squares. Reserve till later.

Directions for Soup

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the meatballs, place the ground veal, Italian sweet sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino Romano cheese, milk, egg, a pinch of pepper flakes, salt, and pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork.
• With a teaspoon, drop 1/2 inch meatballs in hand lightly roll, and then place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
• Bake for 25 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
• In the meantime, heat the unsalted butter over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock or vegetable broth, water and white tables wine and bring to a light boil.
• Reduce the heat low and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes.
• Add the baked meatballs and diced chicken to the soup and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add fresh parsley, basil, kosher salt .and pepper to own taste.
• Stir in the fresh kale and endive cook 5-6 minutes until the leaves are just wilted.
• Add cooked ditalini to soup, stir, let sit for 2 minutes.
• Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with grated Parmesan, add the desired amount of cubed sharp provolone, and Italian sponges to each bowl.

Nutrition

Serving: 01Calories: 480kcalCarbohydrates: 0gProtein: 0gFat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0gMonounsaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgPotassium: 0mgFiber: 0gSugar: 0gVitamin A: 0IUVitamin C: 0mgCalcium: 0mgIron: 0mg

Keyword Wedding Soup

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