Italian Wedding Soup

This is a really nice hearty soup. I made the meatballs very small (about 3/4 inch diameter) which is time-consuming, but very nice. I'm sure it would be fine with whatever pasta you prefer and it may be fine to use frozen spinach. Also any breadcrumbs should work for the meatballs.

Meatballs:

1 lb. meatloaf mix (ground beef, pork and veal)

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

⅓ cup finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan

Place meatballs on a large baking sheet and refrigerate until you are ready to proceed with the soup.

In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, combine carrot, onion, celery and gently sauté until soft.

Mirepoix:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 diced carrot

1 diced large onion

2 stalks diced celery

Add chicken broth and bring to simmer, then add the pasta, meatballs and pasta and simmer until all are done. About 20-30 minutes.

2 quarts chicken broth (Swanson's regular, not low sodium)

1 large cello bag of fresh spinach (10 ounces)

1 cup pasta *I used large couscous (Israeli style)

Season with ground white pepper.