This AIP Italian Wedding Soup uses an unusual stand-in for pasta, and baking the meatballs is a time saver. Soooo goooood!
I’ve always loved soup, and Italian Wedding Soup is one of my faves. But how to make it AIP? The meatballs usually have breadcrumbs in them, and the soup usually has pasta in it. (Oh, pasta. How I miss thee… 😩)
The meatballs are fine without breadcrumbs. I find that I prefer meatballs without them anyway! Also, I have replaced the pasta with……..drum roll, please………riced green plantains! I know, I know. It’s not pasta. But it does add a starchiness that would be lacking otherwise. We have to make compromises, eh?
I’m very happy to have this soup back in my life. I hope you enjoy it, too.
About broth…
I have tried to find a better broth than homemade, but there is just nothing like broth that has been simmering for twelve hours for all the flavuh-flave. It takes a long time, yes, but it is so worth it. If you would like to try it, check out my recipe here. Your soup will only ever be as good as the broth!
I hope you love this soup as much as we do, and that you will be nourished by it. Happy healing!
💗,
Wendi
AIP Italian Wedding Soup
Course: Soups, MainCuisine: AIP, Paleo, ItalianDifficulty: Medium8
servings30
minutes40
minutesThis AIP Italian Wedding Soup uses an unusual stand-in for pasta, and baking the meatballs is a time saver. Soooo goooood!
Ingredients
1 lb. ground chicken
2 t. minced garlic
1/2 t. lemon zest
1/4 C. finely chopped fresh parsley
1 t. dried basil
1t. + 1 t. sea salt
2 T. EVOO (aka extra virgin olive oil)
1 C. chopped onion
1/2 C. finely chopped celery
1/2 C. grated carrots
2 C. riced green plantains*
2 qts. bone broth
4 C. loosely packed organic baby spinach
1/4 C. chopped fresh dill
2 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients plus one teaspoon of salt. (I use a fork for mixing anything with ground chicken because it can be very sticky on the hands.)
- With a cookie scoop, or teaspoon, scoop out meat mixture onto a parchment- or silicone -lined roasting sheet. (You can form them rounder, but it’s not necessary for them to be perfect little balls. Who has time for perfection, anyway?) You should end up with a little over two dozen. Bake meatballs for 30 minutes. Meanwhile…👇🏼
- Heat EVOO in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add riced plantains to the pot. Sauté for another minute.
- Add bone broth, meatballs (when done), dill, and one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a full simmer.
- Add spinach and simmer for about a minute. Stir in lemon juice.
- Serve up, and feel the warmth and health in your belly. Smile, knowing you have done something good for yourself. 💗😋💗
Notes
- *To rice the plantains, peel and chop green plantains. Run them through the food processor without any liquid, stopping occasionally to scrape down the bowl. Stop processing when the plantains are small crumbles, slightly larger than the size of rice.
- Time-saving tip for this recipe: prepare the veggies while the meatballs are baking.
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Seems healthy and delicious too. Great share. I luved the way it has been explained every step. Sure to try it soon. Please check out my blog too for Indian and world cuisine… https://cookwithreena.wordpress.com/blog/ . Do not forget to click on follow . Cheers!!!
We can’t have plantain in our family. Would riced cauliflower change the flavor too much or.would that work? Or just leave it out?
The flavor will be different, just because cauli has that cruciferous-y flavor to it, but maybe try it anyway! The worst that can happen is that you won’t like it. 😄
I am just thrilled with this recipe!!! It was one of the best soups I have ever had! Thank you from the bottom of my belly!!!!
Aw, thanks for sharing that! I so appreciate that you took the time to write. 🙂
We just made this tonight for dinner- used kale instead of spinach b/c we had some leftover from our CSA and added a touch more lemon juice, and it was amazing! I had never thought to rice plantains before for soup, and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi! Thank you! This is one of my favorite soups. 😋
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your recipe does not say which ingredients are for the meatballs
Hi, Sylvia! It’s the first five ingredients plus 1 teaspoon of salt, per recipe instructions. I hope you enjoy this soup. It’s one of my favorites!
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This was delicious. Made it last night for my aunt-in-law who’s visiting. My husband’s family is Italian American and this soup reminded them of Nonna’s. Aunt Doris has seconds. She usually has a very small appetite, but remembering her mother’s soup flavors got her asking for more!
I used cauliflower because that’s what I had. Aunt Doris said she loved the rice, LOL. I didn’t explain it wasn’t rice. Didn’t want to interrupt her reminiscing. Apparently her mother often used rice instead of orzo pasta.
Oh, and I forgot to add the lime zest to the meatballs, so I threw it in before sautéing the cauliflower, and towards the end of the 5 minutes for the carrot-celery-onion mix. (That’s when I discovered I’d forgotten it.) I’m sure the lime flavored meatballs would be lovely, but my husband complemented me on the broth, so maybe I’ll always add the zest to the broth too from now on.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Oh thank you! I love this message, especially about Nonna and Aunt Doris – the biggest compliment EVER. 😀 Be sure to use lemon zest instead of lime, though! You’ll like it better, I promise. Thank you again for writing, and making my day. 💕