Escarole - Italian Wedding Soup

I realize I have been slacking in the department of vegetable posts, but who doesn't know how to cook or eat a tomato? Or corn? Summer in the San Joaquin is a joy!!! And all the fresh fruit you can imagine! But I digress...now we are coming up on the cool seasons with weird vegetables like fennel, rutabagas, or kohlrabi. Hopefully I will remember to post a new veggie every week along with a recipe idea of what to do with it in case you are standing in confusion over your CSA boxes or Farmer's Markets this winter.

This is escarole, a broad-leafed endive with pale green leaves. It is less bitter than the other greens in its family, curly endive or frisée. It is high is folate, vitamins A and K, and fiber. It can be eaten raw, or cooked in soups. You'll see it available in the spring and fall at Farmer's Markets here in the San Joaquin Valley. You can only eat so much salad, and with the weather turning cooler I chose to cook it up in a yummy Italian wedding (meatball) soup!

The ingredients for the meatballs, 1 lb. ground beef, 1/3 cup chopped parsley, 1/3 cup chopped onion, 1 large egg, 1 tsp. salt, 1 slice of bread torn into small pieces (or 1/2 cup bread crumbs), 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, and black pepper to taste.

Mix 'em up good! Kids have fun helping with this since all you need is two clean hands! Use a melon baller or cookie scooper to make the mixture into 1-inch balls.

Set a frying pan on the stove for the meatballs, and a stockpot on the stove filled with 8 cups chicken broth.

Brown meatballs on all sides before adding them to the hot broth. Simmer 20 minutes.

Give your head of escarole a rough chop. Measure out 1 cup of orzo pasta.

Add both to the soup pot and simmer until both are tender, 8-10 minutes. Taste your soup and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper as needed.

Next, whisk together one egg and 2 tsp. Parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Stir your soup on a circular motion while drizzling in the egg mixture to create thin strands of egg.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve. Top with more Parmesan cheese if you want! Enjoy!


Recipe adapted from Denesse Willey in their weekly newsletter.