It’s amazing the power of a recipe name.  Italian “wedding” soup – makes it sound like it’s only good for weddings.  I never questioned the name until recently and what a funny thing I discovered… the soup is not about weddings!  Italian wedding soup actually comes from the term, “Minestra Maritata” which yes refers to a marriage – but not between people.  It is referring to the marriage of the flavors blending so well in the soup.  I’m not surprised at the least and in fact felt rather proud because I specifically talked to my husband how I loved the flavor the meatballs gave to the soup as a result of cooking for an hour in the chicken broth.  Marvelous!

Homemade Italian Wedding Soup

There is no one “right” way for making Italian wedding soup because there are many various versions out there.   The soup dates back a long time ago, some say it originated in Spain and maybe so.  But the fact is, it was the region of Naples which helped make it famous.  The soup initially was a heartier soup than what we often see today.   As is typical in times past, meals were not 3 times a day but one time a day.  So naturally the soup contained more ingredients such as a mix of meats like pork, veal, and beef.   It also included many greens which added nutritional value.

Today, we often use the soup as an appetizer, first course or a light meal.   That suits me just fine.   My recipe comes from my Sicilian mother in law, Nina.   My husband talked about how he remembered her making it quite often when he was growing up.   So what did we do?  We call her up at 9:30 PM and ask her how she made it.  She has no recipe cards, no recipe boxes… just years of cooking authentic Italian meals day in and day out.  This recipe is her recipe, except I used store bought chicken stock for the sake of time.   Next time, I’ll make my own chicken broth.

I like her recipe and in fact, have to say it is the best wedding soup I’ve had – hands down.   It took me less than 30 minutes to prepare and an hour to cook – mostly unattended.

I recommend our Italian Wedding Soup recipe for anyone wanting to make a wonderful soup for lunch or dinner.  The best part is… you don’t have to wait for a wedding!

Liz

Authentic Italian Recipes
www.simpleitaliancooking.com

4 years ago had you mentioned kale potato soup, I’d have turned my nose up and said, “NO THANKS”.   But see I didn’t have a choice 4 years ago because I was in bed sick too weak to barely stand up.   My husband came in the room and said he made some Kale Soup and I had to eat it.   It was the best soup and I started feeling better after the first bite.    He had it loaded with lots of onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes and finely chopped kale, all of which are loaded with lots of vitamins and nutrients my body needed.  There were not potatoes in his recipe, it was just a kale soup, however I’d even dare to say it was better for my soul than chicken soup.

Recipe for Kale Potato Soup

Since then I’ve made it from time to time adding in other ingredients such as potatoes, hence the recipe, “Kale Potato Soup”.  The ironic part is my husband isn’t a big fan of kale potato soup… at least with the tomatoes which I love.   So sometimes I make it with the tomatoes, sometimes without.   Is there a right way?  No of course not.    My version of the soup is my version, you can take the recipe and make it your own version by adding or removing whatever you like.  I always put Romano cheese on top of these types of soup, they add a nice salty zing.

It is also advised to make sure you chop the kale finely if it isn’t chopped already and make sure to remove any stems.   I made a batch a few weeks ago using a bag of frozen chopped kale – mistake.  Half of the bag was hard fibrous stems which I found killed the soup.  From now on I’ll buy freshly chopped kale and I recommend you do too!

If using fresh kale, always soak it in warm salt water to remove any bugs which may be lurking around. The kale will cook down so add it in batches.   You can use the soup as an appetizer or a main meal.   I have made it with garlic bread on the side which is good by itself or for dipping.  If out of time or not a big fan of garlic bread, simply toast some good hearty bread and use it for dipping.  Of course in Italy they would probably finish up the meal with a nice cup of espresso.   I still remember how they always had their infamous stove top espresso maker sitting right there on the counter waiting to be used.  And used it was!

Feel free to give your comments to the soup.  I’d love to hear feedback or additional suggestions.

Sincerely,

Liz
www.SimpleItalianCooking.com

I thought chick peas were for humus – not Italian cooking, but I was wrong!   Sometimes I feel like there is so much I have to learn about Italian cooking and I

Chick Peas

just don’t know how I ever will!   I first heard of chick peas being used for pasta, as in chick pea flour.   I haven’t tried this yet, but will plan on it, if not for curiosity sake.   But chick pea soup… and Italian at that?   It’s true and guess what?  I liked it and so did my husband.

I heard a recipe for chick pea soup which included pasta in the soup, but I lost the recipe and decided to try my own variation without the pasta.   I first made the soup with onions, celery and carrot, and oh yes… lots of garlic.    Added water and the can of chick peas.   I let it cook until the chick peas were soft and served myself a bowl.   It was half decent.   Too thin and not enough flavor.  Then my husband suggested blending it in a blender and add some cannellini beans to make it creamier.   Hmm…. ok, I’ll try that.   Boy what a difference!   The flavor of the beans was totally infused throughout the soup and I would have never guessed it was chick peas.   If I had used some chicken or vegetable stock it would have had even more depth to the soup, but it isn’t necessary.    It was filling too, but I had 2 bowls.

Cannellini beans

This recipe is so healthy.   Without even trying you will get a good dose of dietary soluble fiber which is really important.  We should be getting 35 grams of fiber daily.  1 serving (1/2 cup) of chick peas have 7 grams of dietary fiber.  1 serving (1/2 cup) of cannellini beans have 4 grams of dietary fiber.   That’s not bad!  Fiber is found in two forms, insoluble and soluble.  Insoluble fiber helps keep your intestines and colon area clean by literally scraping the old residue from the walls.  Soluble fiber on the other hand helps lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels.   Soluble fiber is called “soluble” because it dissolves in water creating a gel like material, according to the Mayo Clinic website.

The lack of fiber in a diet can lead to yucky stuff like colon polyps which can become cancerous.  The Mayo Clinic talks about preventive measures which can be taken and discusses how a proper high fiber diet is part of the solution http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/colon-polyps/DS00511/DSECTION=prevention .

This recipe is a good source of both types of fiber, but remember to drink plenty of water!

Enjoy and your high fiber soup and let me know if you try it!

Liz
Easy and Simple Italian Recipes
www.SimpleItalianRecipes.com

I almost labeled this blog Minestrone Soup Italian Style only to realize hello….. minestrone soup IS Italian!   LOL!  Ever since I cut out caffiene 100% from my diet about 3 months ago my brain doesn’t seem to be the same!  Oh well… here’s to a healthier me! 

Getting back to minestrone soup, I don’t even know what “minestrone” means.   I’ll look it up and let you know if I find out anything of interest.  My mom made good minestrone soup when I was growing up, I remember having it with a nice chunk of Italian bread on the side.   When I got married and wanted to make it, I often put it off because I thought it took a lot of things I didn’t have… like different type beans or maybe some greens or ham (which I don’t eat anymore).    Ham I admit gives it a wonderful aroma.   So after reading a few recipes here and there I came up with my own soup that suited my simple ingredients rule quite fine.  

Ingredients:  Water, carrots, celery, garlic, onion, 1 can tomatoes chopped, olive oil, noodles (optional).   That’s all!   Instead of water you can use chicken or veggie stock if you have it.   Or throw in a chicken breast, but this requires more time to make sure it cooks all the way through.  So to keep it simple, use the basic ingredients and follow my recipe here.     It takes about 1 hour or 1 1/2 hours if you take your time like me. 

To make the minestrone soup more “bulked” up add a can of cannellini beans or other beans maybe some kidney beans.  Add some chopped potatoes too.   Make sure you serve it with some bread and a big healthy italian salad!

Keep it simple with simple ingredients and you’ve made a masterpiece of a meal!   Enjoy and share your minestrone secrets if you can!

Ciao- Liz