Minestra Maritata: A Marriage made in Soup
I don’t know what it is but I’ve noticed that recently I’ve been making a lot of stews and soups. I suppose that says something about me and my need for comfort at the moment. Does what you cook reflect your state of mind? Maybe so! Today I found myself making another soup. A big bold soup with buckets going on in it!
Some time ago I was looking through the shelves of my local supermarket and came across a tin of Italian Wedding Soup. An intriguing title for a soup but I liked the idea of a soup with meatballs so I bought it…it wasn’t bad. It seems that this soup is rather a misnomer as it has nothing to do with weddings but is instead a marriage of meat and green vegetables in a chicken broth. In Italian, this soup is known as Minestra Maritata. I did a little research on the soup and it would seem that there is a question over the origins of it but my interpretation is that it came originally from Spain to Italy and was adapted to include pasta. Am I right?
There is a plethora of recipes out there for this soup. Surprisingly, I couldn’t find one in the Silver Spoon cooking bible {eyes wide open}! The meat is usually meatballs or sausage. The green vegetables are mainly cabbage, kale, endive, etc. I decided to make mine with some meatballs I’d bought from James Whelan Butchers which I’d reshaped into smaller balls. What I ended up with was a hearty soup that was very filling so this served well as a supper course. Here’s how I made mine. Enjoy!
{Serves 4}
Ingredients
- 16-20 meatballs the size of a walnut
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 medium potatoes, diced
- 1 stick of celery, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- ½ cup of frozen peas
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 2 tins of water
- ½ cup of macaroni or riso pasta
- 4 leaves of kale, washed and roughly chopped
- 1 tbp tomato puree
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Gently fry the meatballs to brown
- Put the remaining ingredients except for the pasta and kale in a large casserole or saucepan and bring to the boil
- Reduce and simmer for 20 minutes
- Add the meatballs and pasta. Stir frequently so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the casserole and burn
- Continue to cook for 15 mins, adding more water if needed
- Add the kale and cook for 5 minutes or until the kale has wilted
- Season with salt and pepper
- Serve with crusty bread and a nice glass of red wine!
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Salt, Pepper and a Dollop of Cream 