Kale is back!  And in this Italian wedding soup, it’s better than ever.  I always thought that the “wedding” in the soup’s name was a reference to nuptials between two people in love.  Apparently it’s actually a reference to the marriage of meat and vegetable.  The thing I love about this soup is that it’s fast.  Super fast.  You can build the components in the amount of time it takes to boil the broth, and the soup is done 10 minutes after you add everything to the pot.  That makes this a fast and hearty weeknight meal.  The parent recipe can be found here, but I’ve made a few changes.

For the soup:

8 c low-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch of kale, chopped

1/2 c pearl couscous or orzo

For the meatballs:

1 lb lean ground turkey

1/4 c seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 c minced onion

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper

In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs.  Your hands are, by far, the best tool to use for this.  Shape the meatballs into 1″ balls.  I used a 1/2 ounce cookie scoop for this, but you can eyeball it.  Each meatball will be about 1 Tablespoon, yield about 30.

Once the broth is boiling, carefully drop in the meatballs.  Add the couscous or orzo and the kale.  Add a few grinds of fresh pepper and boil for 10 minutes or until the couscous is tender and the meatballs are cooked through.