Reviewed: Jan. 8, 2012

This recipe was a really good start, but with some tweaks it made the best soup I've ever had. Instead of hamburger meatballs, I felt sausage would add more flavor so I bought a tray of sausages and removed them from the casing. I then rolled the meat into balls and browned them and patted them dry to remove most of the fat. For stock, if you don't have any homemade I like to used 6 cups of water and two Knorr Homestyle Stock jelly cubes. I then season with onion powder, garlic salt and salt/pepper to taste. Finally, I use frozen spinach instead of escarole, and small bowtie pasta instead of orzo. I cook the pasta before hand so it doesn't soak up all of the stock and add the spinach to the boiling stock to thaw.

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Reviewer:

evangel89

Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2012

This soup was wonderful. Everyone devoured it and asked for more. As per previous reviews, I used ground chicken for the meatballs, and baked them before adding to the soup to reduce grease. Also swapped out orzo in favour of acini de pepe. As others have mentioned, halve the amount of dry pasta (I suspect the original recipe was meant to call for one cup of cooked pasta, rather than uncooked). Will most definitely make this again.

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Reviewer:

TanyaH

Reviewed: Jan. 4, 2012

I let it sit in the frige overnight and we really enjoyed this soup.

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Reviewer:

chrishugs

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2012

Delicious! I used ASHLEYBEGOOD's suggestions. Used kale instead of escarole and added some shallots (had them on hand) finely diced to the meatballs. Baking them @ 350 for about 15-20 minutes before adding them to the soup cut down on the amount of grease but still gave them enough time to lend their beefy goodness to the soup. I also added a little garlic and herb seasoning towards the end which kicked it up a notch. Will definitely be making it again soon!

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Reviewer:

Nursejordangrace

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2012

we use spicy italian sausage in place of the ground beef for extra flavor and LOVE IT!!

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Reviewer:

Danielle L

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Nappanee, Indiana, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 25, 2011

The soup was a hit! everyone loved it and wants the recipe!! Ended up following everyone's suggestions 1. used 6 cups chicken broth and i cup beef broth 2. for the meatballs used half pork and half beef and also cooked them before i put them in the soup 3. only used 1/2 cup of stelline pasta and cooked it before putting in the soup 4. ended up cooking on low in my dutch oven for about 5 hours to really build the flavor

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Reviewer:

mrae11

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2011

Really great base for a soup, however it lacks a depth of flavor. I doubled the amount of meatballs, and bumped up portions of everything else. I also used a mix of chicken and beef broth that added some nice flavor. Kale worked instead of endive and was still delicious--it was what I had on hand, and it's really good for you. The broth is going to need more seasoning than just the meatballs--prepare to add salt, pepper, and oregano/basil/garlic. Next time, I think I'll sautée some garlic and onion before adding the broth. Also, some people have said cook the meatballs before to get some of the fat out--I did this, and I think it was a mistake. A lot of the flavor of the soup comes from the meat, so cooking the meatballs in the broth may add that depth that was missing the first time around. Plus, if you use lean ground beef, the amount of fat shouldn't be an issue. (Authentic Italian Wedding soup has an oily texture because of this.) Overall, though, it's a very tweakable soup, and I'll definitely experiment with it more.

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Reviewer:

gabrielleattack

Reviewed: Dec. 6, 2011

I love this soup and use ground turkey and only 1/2 cup of orzo pasta

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Reviewer:

Andrea

Reviewed: Nov. 14, 2011

Meatballs were bland and the soup itself inedible.

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Reviewer:

atasteoftime

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Living In: Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Reviewed: Nov. 5, 2011

This is the first time I've made this and it is definately one I will be making again. I baked the meatballs in the oven first, and cooked the pasta before adding it to soup. I added Italian bread with garlic and had a wonderful dinner. I also made enough for leftovers. One can never have too much soup in the fall and winter. Wonderful recipie

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