Italian Wedding Soup

I'm finally done with my finals. This is probably the last time that I will have to take academic classes. I'm back to research and currently in the process of writing my thesis.

I found a great-looking soup on My Tasty Treasures, a blog that I regularly follow. One that caught my eyes was the Italian Wedding Soup. At first glance, it looks like a strange name to give for this dish. It seems to be an Italian mistranslation, Married Soup, which refers to the combination of green vegetables and meat.

Serves 8-10
Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 45 mins
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup pearl barley
3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb ground pork & beef
6 cups chicken stock
1 egg, beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup parmesan
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 (10z.) bag of spinach, triple washed

Procedure

1. In a medium pot, add barley and 5-6 cups water. Boil over high heat and simmer fo 30 mins. Set aside.

2. In a large soup pot, cook carrots, celery and onions over medium heat, about 5 mins. Season with salt and pepper. Add broth and keep it hot.

3. In a bowl, combine meat, egg, garlic, parmesan, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Shape into meatballs and add it into the soup pot. Cook until all browned about 10 mins.

4. Add in spinach and pearl barley to the soup pot. Cook until spinach changes color.  Serve.