Just make sure you order it properly. Or NO SOUP FOR YOU.

I have never considered myself a great cook. However, I bake a mean loaf of bread, an amazing apple pie, a lovely raspberry pie, and decent stuffed cabbage. I can also provide decent meals for my family, take extra care around the holidays, and have recently realized that when you DO follow a recipe, great things CAN happen.

I was attending an in-door field hockey event last year when I tasted the most incredible soup ever. E.V.E.R. It was Italian Wedding Soup, and I spent most of the day tracking down the cook. Coincidentally, it was the mother of one of Sassy’s best friends, who informed me that the recipe was from the Barefoot Contessa. Ina. Ina Garten.

I have been making it once a month since then, and have found that not only does it warm me on the inside, it has become my go to comfort dish.

I want to share it with all of you.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

3/4 pound ground chicken

1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed

2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

3 tablespoons milk

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 cup minced yellow onion

1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces

10 cups homemade chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars

1/4 cup minced fresh dill

12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Do yourself a favor and try this soup. It is the best soup you will ever have. Honestly, if I CAN MAKE IT, anyone can.

Enjoy!!!