{
    "submissionId": "re_20260226_220029_d8f188393b31",
    "title": "Italian Wedding Soup",
    "ingredients": [
        "1 piece of  stale italian bread (ripped up)",
        "\u00bc cup milk",
        "2 - 2.5 lbs ground meat (\u2154 is ground chuck and \u2153 is ground pork)",
        "Salt & cracked black pepper (to taste)",
        "\u00bd cup fresh parsley (chopped & divided)",
        "20  garlic cloves (chopped & divided)",
        "2  eggs (whisked)",
        "\u00bd cup italian bread crumbs",
        "\u2154 cup grated pecorino romano",
        "20  basil leaves (ripped up & divided)",
        "4 tbsp olive oil (or more if needed)",
        "4  carrots (peeled and diced)",
        "4  stalks of celery (diced)",
        "\u00bd  a large onion or 1 small onion (diced)",
        "2 tsp garlic powder",
        "2 tsp italian seasoning",
        "\u00bc tsp crushed red pepper flakes",
        "2 tbsp tomato paste",
        "1 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)",
        "10 cups chicken stock",
        "2 oz hunk of pecorino romano"
    ],
    "instructions": [
        "In a small add in the ripped up stale italian bread and pour the milk over the bread. Let that sit for a few minutes.",
        "In a large bowl add in the ground meat mixture, salt, cracked black pepper, 12 chopped garlic cloves, chopped fresh parsley, whisked eggs, italian bread crumbs, pecorino romano, and 8 pieces of ripped up basil.",
        "Now take the milk soaked bread and give it a squeeze to get all the excess milk out of the bread. Once the bread is drained of the excess milk add it into the large bowl with the meat. Using your hands mix everything together just until incorporated (DO NOT OVERMIX).",
        "Once the meat mixture is incorporated begin rolling the meat into small \u00be or 1 inch meatballs. Place the mini meatballs on a baking sheet and set it aside.",
        "In a dutch oven pot, heat up the olive oil on medium-medium high heat. Once the pot is hot, add in the carrots, celery, onions, garlic powder, italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and cracked black pepper. Stir everything together and saute that for a few minutes until translucent. Then, add in about 8 cloves of chopped garlic and tomato paste. Saute that for a few minutes to brown up the tomato paste.",
        "Deglaze the pot with white wine, give everything a stir, and let that simmer for about 3-5 minutes, so the alcohol can burn out. Then pour in the chicken stock and bring the pot back up to a boil.",
        "Once the pot comes to a boil, add in all your mini meatballs. Once you have added all the meatballs, add in the hunk of pecorino romano. Then, bring the pot back up to a boil, once it comes to a boil, drop it to a medium-low heat, and let that simmer for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.",
        "When there is only a couple minutes of cooking time left add in \u00bc cup of chopped fresh parsley and the rest of the ripped up basil leaves (about 12). Stir that all together and you're ready to serve!",
        "You can serve this soup over ditalini, pastina, or any pasta you like!"
    ],
    "notes": "---\nImported Description\n\nItalian wedding soup is a labor of love; just like marriage! lol! It\u2019s actually really not that laborious! The soup is super simple to make and so are the meatballs. The most difficult part is just rolling the meatballs, a little small, smaller than you normally do! So, maybe not exactly like marriage! Ahahah!!\u00a0Here is my vow to you: this is going to be the best Italian wedding soup you will ever not only make, but eat in your life! So rolling up those little bundles of joy (meatballs) We\u2019ll see well worth the effort you put in after you and your family and friends. Try this recipe. Not only is it extremely delicious but it\u2019s incredibly healthy too. Like Italian penicillin soup, but with meatballs.",
    "authorDisplayName": "Steve Janowicz",
    "sourceURL": "",
    "ownership": "original",
    "consent": true,
    "createdAt": "2026-02-26T22:00:29+00:00",
    "status": "published",
    "imagePath": "/home/getamped14/public_html/myrecipebookplanner.com/api/recipe-exchange/_lib/../../../uploads/recipe-exchange/2026/02/re_20260226_220029_d8f188393b31.jpg",
    "imageUrl": "https://myrecipebookplanner.com/uploads/recipe-exchange/2026/02/re_20260226_220029_d8f188393b31.jpg",
    "userFingerprint": "1429b353a5e5cea92d7c71a6b111b399144cab46",
    "publishedAt": "2026-02-27T00:39:36+00:00"
}