Escarole Soup Recipe – Laura Vitale

Welcome to Everybody Loves Italian. We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.

Escarole Soup Recipe – Laura Vitale

Actually no one called it Escarole they referred to it in the Italian dialect of “shcadole”. Great memories and Wonderful Soup. It is perfect for these winter days in the northern hemisphere. Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Escarole Soup from back in the day is often called Wedding soup or Italian wedding soup these days. Escarole soup is an Italian soup consisting of green vegetables and meat. It is popular in the United States, where it is a staple in many Italian restaurants.

Wedding soup often consists of green vegetables (usually endive and escarole or cabbagelettucekale, and/or spinach) and meat (usually meatballsand/or sausage sometimes chicken containing Italian parsley and parmesan cheese) in a clear chicken-based broth. Wedding soup sometimes contains pasta (usually cavatellifusilliacini di pepepastinaorzo, etc.), lentils, or grated parmesan cheese.

The term “wedding soup” comes from the Italian language phrase “minestra maritata” (“married soup”), which is a reference to the flavor produced by the combination/”marriage” of greens and the meat. The minestra maritata recipe is also prepared by the families of Lazio and Campania. Some form of minestra maritata was long popular in Toledo, Spain, before pasta became an affordable commodity to most Spaniards. The modern wedding soup is quite a bit lighter than the old Spanish form, which contained more meats than just the meatballs of modern Italian-American versions.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb of Escarole, washed and chopped into bite size pieces

  • 2 Cloves of Garlic, minced

  • 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil

  • 1 15oz can of Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed well

  • 6 cups of Beef or Chicken Stock or you can use a combination of both

  • For the Meatballs

  • 1/2 lb of Ground Pork, Beef and Veal Mix

  • 1 Egg

  • 1/4 cup of Freshly Grated Parmiggiano

  • 1/4 cup of Fresh Bread Crumbs

  • 2 Tbsp of Milk

  • 2 Tbsp of Freshly Chopped ParsleySalt and Pepper, to taste

Preparation

1) In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs and set aside for a few minutes.

2) In a large soup pot preheated over medium heat, add the oil and garlic and sautee until fragrant.

3) Add the stock and beans and bring to a boil, meanwhile, roll little meatballs out of the mixture we prepared and drop them in the boiling stock mixture.

4) Add the chopped escarole, season with salt and pepper and cook the soup for about 15 minutes. Serve right away!