I say it all the time, but soup is hands down my favorite thing to make across any cuisine, cooking technique, or course. This Homemade Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Moroccan Cous Cous is as classic as it comes with a small twist using some baby spinach and the smaller cous cous. One of my favorite things about soups is how incredibly versatile they are with the opportunity to swap out or enhance a few ingredients without skipping a beat in the flavor category. Often times changing out ingredients in soup can make things better and more customizable for someone’s health benefits or diet restrictions, for instance swapping out beans for quinoa, or brown rice for white rice, or in this recipe changing out Moroccan for Isreali cous cous. Regardless, this Homemade Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Moroccan Cous Cous is amazing and I promise you’ll love it!
September kicks off the soup making frenzy for me because the weather starts to turn a bit and there is football every single weekend! We usually have people over several times a week and weekend to help eat up all of the yummy food I make, but if there’s a football game then soup is the ultimate food. It’s therapeutic to me and one of the simple food joys in my life where I can graze upon a huge pot all day long! I especially like hearty soups that stick to these bones when it’s cold outside so this Homemade Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Moroccan Cous Cous hits the nail on the head.
My daughter is not a huge meat fan, so often times if there’s chicken or beef in a stew or soup she kind of eats around it, but this Homemade Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Moroccan Cous Cous is perfect because I cook the meatballs separate and put them in when serving up a single bowl. This allows the recipe to be customized but also so that the base and broth of the soup aren’t especially cloudy. Nothing worse than a soggy soup with weird floating ingredients all around. The same goes with the Moroccan cous cous. It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Bob’s Red Mill, so if they make a product of an ingredients I am looking for you can 100% guarantee I’ll be buying it. I trust them, it’s as simple as that, and after touring their incredibly clean and transparent facilities I trust them even more. Every product they make is superior, even something as old as Moroccan cous cous pasta. It’s been around forever, and it cooks perfectly and is delicious every time I make it. Using Bob’s Red Mill Moroccan cous cous was a no brainer in my Homemade Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Moroccan Cous Cous.
The base of the soup is a simple combination of mirepoix, i.e. onions, celery and carrots, with some minced garlic, bay leaves and chicken stock to finish it off. Almost 100% of the time I caramelize my onions in a soup before I make it, but I wanted to make sure the broth was a little clearer and the vegetables tender, not over cooked and over browned. Doing this process could not be easier, just simply add everything to a large pot and simmer it until the vegetables are tender. Finish off the vegetables and chicken stock with a little salt and pepper and keep it warm
When serving soup that has either pasta or leafy greens, I always leave them separate. As I stated earlier, there is nothing worse than a soggy soup with a bunch of overcooked ingredients. The way that I usually prepare soups like this is by cooking the pasta, in this case the cous cous, separate and add it into a single serving bowl before I serve it up. The same applies to leafy greens as they can wilt incredibly fast in a large pot of hot soup. Since the broth is so hot, it can cook the leafy greens really quickly, so instead I add in a small handful in that same single serving bowl with the cous cous. For protein I usually cook it in the soup but meatballs can fall apart when water logged so I add a few of these guys in there at the end before serving as well.
This soup is super easy and really really delicious, and perfect for those cold weekends loaded with friends, family and football. Happy soup making you guys!
- 1 peeled and small diced yellow onions
- 6 small diced stalks of celery
- 5 peeled and small diced carrots
- 5 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 cups of good chicken stock
- 4 cups of cooked Bob’s Red Mill Moroccan Cous Cous
- 4 cups of packed baby spinach
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- ½ loaf of French bread submerged in water for 5 minutes
- 1 pound each ground pork and ground sirloin
- ½ peeled finely minced yellow onion
- 5 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cups of finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon of finely minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon of finely minced fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon of finely minced fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce
- 1 dash of hot sauce
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Soup: In a large pot simmer together over low heat the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and chicken stock until the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Keep warm.
- Meatballs: Squeeze the water out of the French bread as best you can and add it to a large bowl with all of the meatball ingredients until completely combined.
- Next, make mini ½” inch sized meatballs by rolling them in your hands and place them on cookie sheet trays lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until browned and cooked through out. Keep warm.
- To Plate: Pour a few ladles of the soup and vegetables into a bowl and add in some cooked cous cous, baby spinach, and a few cooked meatballs.
- Serve hot with optional garnishes: parmesan cheese and micro greens.