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| Hearty and delicious |
My son Marc’s paternal great-grandmother from Sicily taught this recipe to his grandmother and I learned it from her, as Meatball Soup. Years later I found out it was also known as Italian Wedding Soup and that it is an Italian-American soup, but probably only because of the meatballs. In southern Italy at that time the people were poor, poor, poor. Like most poor people at that time meat was a luxury they couldn't afford. But when they came to the United States there was meat! And they could afford it! Especially chopped meat. Hence the meat was added. Just like spaghetti and meatballs. You really can't find spaghetti and meatballs in Italy and Italians can't understand why Americans, especially Italian Americans think that is an Italian meal. But like most peasant dishes from each immigrant group, the meat was added here because it was available and often affordable.
I also thought that this soup was served at Italian weddings, although it must have been long, long ago because none of the Italians I know served it at their weddings, but once again, not true. The name probably came from a mistranslation of the phrase “minestra maritata” which translates as “married soup”, referring to the fact that this is a comingling of flavors from available greens and meats,
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| Marc loved everything with Parmigiano Reggiano and garlic |
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| Marc thought he looked just like his grandpa Al. |
Marc loved this soup as a baby. He would reach into the bowl of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and grab a handful of it and shove it into his mouth. He loved the garlicky taste and the baby sized meatballs. He was so cute, and the soup was so delicious.
Hint: If you make the soup ahead of time, don't add the pasta until you reheat the soup.
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