Honestly, in times like these, I’ve been craving comfort food while wanting to make sure I’m taking care of myself at the same time. The first dish I made on one of my full days of being home from work and actually wanting to cook (after spending hours anxiously scrolling the internet) was a big pot of soup for the house. My roommate and I ate from this pot of soup for two days. We both unplugged from the news, sat at the table together, and just enjoyed bowls of soup without talking about the craziness of current events. Worth every minute.

It’s chicken noodle soup, but not really? I mean, we’ve got chicken and noodles here, so it works. One thing I love most about making soup at home is being able to use up any vegetables that might be going bad and using up pantry items at home. Don’t want to add meat? No problem. Do you have ground beef instead of ground chicken? Use that instead. No ditalini pasta? Use any noodle shape you might have on hand like spaghetti, shells, or orzo.

I tend to keep ground chicken in my freezer for fried rice and noodle dishes, so I wanted to make my take on one of my favorites: Italian wedding soup. I also used homemade vegetable stock in addition to chicken stock because that’s what I had on hand. I would recommend using homemade stock if you can, but you can definitely use canned or boxed broth if need be. Let’s get cooking!

Chicken Meatball Soup

Serves: 6-8

Cook time: 45 minutes

Meatballs:

1lb ground chicken

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup breadcrumbs or panko

1/4 cup milk or heavy cream

1 large egg

1 large lemon, zested

1/2 tsp dill, chopped

1 tbsp garlic paste

1/2 tbsp smoked paprika

1/2 tbsp dried thyme

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Set aside a sheet tray lined with parchment paper or silpat.

Add all ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix until just combined without overworking. Get a rounded 1/2 tablespoon scoop of meat and roll into small meatballs. The mixture is going to be a bit tacky, which is fine, you can wear disposable kitchen gloves or just use a little bit of water to wet your hands when you’re rolling the meatballs out. Line them up on sheet tray and bake until cooked through and crisp, about 20 minutes. Once the meatballs are cooked, set aside.

Chicken Soup:

Olive oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

4 small celery stalks, thinly sliced on a bias

4 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on a bias

6 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Small knob of ginger, cut in half

Kosher salt

Black pepper

3 quarts homemade chicken or vegetable stock (or 3 store-bought cartons’ worth)

1 cup ditalini pasta (you can use any small noodle shape)

1 can white cannelini beans, drained

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

In a large stockpot or dutch oven, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Over medium-high heat, sauté the onions, celery and carrots until they’re slightly soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Next, add the sliced garlic and knob of ginger. Stir well and liberally season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Then, add the chicken stock. Bring soup up to a rolling boil and add the ditalini pasta. Boil for 8 minutes and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Add the can of drained beans, frozen chopped spinach, and the cooked chicken meatballs.

Simmer for 4 more minutes and once everything is heated through and the pasta is al dente, serve immediately (making sure to fish out the piece of ginger at some point). I garnished my bowl with a little more fresh dill and a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.

¡Buen provecho!