Italian Wedding Soup Build a Bowl

Adapted from Culinaire Magazine. “Italian Wedding Soup” has nothing to do with weddings but the marriage of flavors in the soup. We like to build our own bowls when there are several ingredients; it’s much easier to carb count and keep track of gluten free. Make the Acini di Pepe pasta and carrots separately, then add a measured amount to the bowl, along with desired number of meatballs. Top with the hot stock. Acini di Pepe pasta or pastina is Italian for “little dough”. This soup is actually really easy to make, especially if you get at the meatballs earlier in the day. Gluten and gluten free meatballs have very similar CHO counts as per below. Rice crumbs are more dense, so we add ¼ cup rather than 1/3 cup panko crumbs.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Pasta, pork

Ingredients

Meatballs

1 lb (454 gr) ground pork 0 CHO
1 egg 0 CHO
2/3 cup (38 gr) finely grated gouda 1. 3 CHO
1/3 cup (23 gr) Panko breadcrumbs (23 CHO/30 GRAMS) 17.6 CHO
1 tsp. salt 0 CHO
¼ tsp. pepper 0 CHO

TOTAL CHO 18.9 CHO

37 (15 gr each) before cooked MEATBALLS = 555GRAMS
37 (11 gr each) after cooked MEATBALLS = 407 GRAMS
18.9 CHO DIVIDED BY 407 GRAMS = .046 CHO/GRAM
.046 CHO x 11 GRAMS PER MEATBALL AFTER COOKED = .506 CHO EACH

Gluten Free Meatballs

1 lb (454 gr) ground pork 0 CHO
1 egg 0 CHO
2/3 cup (38 gr) finely grated gouda 1.3 CHO
1/4 cup (35 gr) Gluten Free breadcrumbs. (11 CHO/20 GRAMS) 19.25 CHO
1 tsp. salt 0 CHO
¼ tsp. pepper 0 CHO

TOTAL CHO 20.55 CHO

38 (15 gram each) before cooked MEATBALLS = 570 GRAMS
38 (11 gr each) after cooked MEATBALLS = 418 GRAMS 20.55 CHO DIVIDED BY 418 GRAMS = .049 CHO/GRAM
.049 CHO x 11 GRAMS PER MEATBALL AFTER COOKED = .539 CHO EACH

Soup Stock

8 cups Chicken stock 0 CHO
2 ½ cups (45 gr) spinach, chopped 1 CHO
Salt and pepper to taste 0 CHO

TOTAL CHO 1 CHO

Pasta

1 cup (200 GRAMS) DRY ACINI DI PEPE PASTA 138 CHO
TOTAL WEIGHT COOKED 531 GRAMS
138 CHO DIVIDED BY 531 GRAMS = .259 CHO/GRAM
1 TBSP = 12 GRAMS .259 x 12 GRAMS 3.1 CHO/TBSP
¼ CUP = 4 TBSP 3.1 x 4 12.4 CHO/1/4 CUP
¼ CUP = 48 GRAMS
*Because this pasta is so small it is denser than the usual pasta measurements.

Carrots

Coarsely grate carrots to measure 1 cup 95 gr, 6 CHO
6 CHO DIVIDED BY 95 GRAMS = .063 CHO/GRAM
1 TBSP = 8 grams .063 CHO x 8 GR. .505 CHO/TBSP
Bring small saucepan of water to a boil add grated carrots, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and serve alongside meatballs and pasta.

Instructions

Meatballs:
Pre heat oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment
Mix all ingredients. I used a melon baller to make almost round little meatballs, all 15 grams. (I weigh them all as I go). Place on the parchment sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from parchment when done to paper towel.
Soup Stock:
Add stock to sauce pan, bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add chopped spinach and cook 10 minutes.

Pasta:
In another saucepan, bring salted water to a boil and add 200 gr of Acini di Pepe. Simmer for about 15 minutes until done. Drain, toss with a splash of olive oil and place alongside meatballs to build the soup bowls.