Italian wedding soup: small meatballs, clear broth, a gentle bowl to come home to

Some nights call for nothing fancy, just a warm bowl you can make without thinking too hard. This is that bowl. Tender little meatballs, a clear broth, soft carrots and celery, a handful of spinach wilted in at the end. It comes together in about 30 minutes, and it reheats well, so it earns its place on a tired Tuesday.

The beef and pork bring zinc and iron, and zinc is involved in immune regulation and gut-barrier repair, both worth supporting for an immune system finding its calm. The broth carries the soup and adds its own gut support. The spinach is a source of folate and vitamin A, and the carrots add more vitamin A, which is involved in mucosal health. None of this is dramatic. It is steady nourishment, which is what the body uses.

Source the beef and pork from animals raised well if you can, and let the simplicity of the bowl be enough. Before you eat, take a breath and look at it: green spinach, orange carrot, the small meatballs floating. A few seconds of that settles the nervous system, and a settled body takes in a meal differently.

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/2 yellow onion, grated
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tsp coconut flour
• 2 1/2 tsp unfortified nutritional yeast (a reintroduction item; omit on strict elimination)
• 1 tsp sea salt

Soup:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups diced carrot
• 1 cup diced celery
• 10 cups chicken broth or bone broth
• 1 to 2 tsp sea salt, to taste
• 3 cups fresh spinach

Method

Grate the onion and add it to a bowl with the ground beef, ground pork, parsley, garlic, coconut flour, nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix with your hands just until combined, then roll bite-size meatballs and chill them in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes. The chill firms them up so they hold together in the broth, since there is no egg here to bind them.

In a stockpot, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrot and celery and saute about 5 minutes to soften.

Pour in the broth, add 1 teaspoon salt, and bring it to a boil.

Drop the chilled meatballs in gently and lower the heat to a steady simmer. Cover and cook about 8 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and floating.

Stir in the spinach and let it wilt about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt, then serve warm.

Instant Pot variation

You can build the whole soup in the Instant Pot. Use Saute to soften the carrot and celery in the oil, then add the broth and salt. Drop in the chilled meatballs, seal, and cook on low pressure for 5 minutes with a quick release. Switch back to Saute, stir in the spinach, and let it wilt before serving. Because the egg-free meatballs are tender, lower the basket gently and avoid stirring hard until they have set. The pressure time for raw meatballs in broth is a starting estimate and is flagged for kitchen testing.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*