Italian Wedding Soup

It turns out that Italian Wedding soup is pretty easy to make, pretty easy to make a lot of, and pretty easy to make delicious. It is also pretty tasty on a cold winter night.

Italian Wedding Soup:
1 yellow onion, grated and divided into two piles
1 clove garlic, grated and divided into two piles
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup plus 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped parsley divided into two piles
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
tsp olive oil
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups spinach
1 cup ditalini or other small pasta (plus another cup if you like a lot of pasta)
Juice of half a lemon (optional)

Mix the ground beef, half of the onion, half of the garlic, half of the parsley, 1/4 cup parm, bread crumbs, milk, and egg in a bowl until combined. Roll tiny meatballs and place on a plate, then put the plate in the fridge so they can firm up a bit.

Saute the remaining onion and garlic with a teaspoon of olive oil on medium heat. Throw in some salt and pepper, stir for a few minutes. Add the wine, cook for a few minutes until slightly reduced. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, cook on high until boiling. If you have some time, cover the pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. If not, turn the heat to medium high, and throw in one cup of uncooked pasta. (If you like more pasta, cook the rest in water in a separate pot – you don’t want too much pasta cooking in the actual soup, it will overwhelm the broth). Then, toss in the meatballs. In about 7 minutes both your pasta and meatballs will be cooked. Throw in the spinach and stir it around, then ladle out the soup and serve, topped with the remaining parm.