Italian Wedding Soup

This is my version of Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe, which I ran across here on the Food Network.

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1 small onion, grated
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 large egg white
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 slice whole grain bread, toasted in the oven and ground into bread crumbs*
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 8 oz ground sirloin
• 8 oz ground bison (could use ground turkey, chicken, or pork)
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

* I used a hand held cheese grater for easy clean up, but you could also use a food processor.

Soup:

• 12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To make the meatballs:

Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Then add the cheese, sirloin, and bison. Using a 1 teaspoons measuring spoon, portion out the balls and shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet and set aside.

To make the soup:

Bring the broth to a boil in a large covered pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 8 minutes. Add the spinach and stir.

Whisk the egg whites and cheese in a medium bowl to blend. Stir the soup in a circular motion. Gradually drizzle the egg mixture into the moving broth, stirring gently with a fork to form thin stands of egg, about 1 minute.

Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve. Top with a pinch of parmesan cheese if desired.

Nutritional Info

6 servings = per serving

Calories: 206
Fat: 6.5 g
Carbs: 11 g
Protein: 27 g