ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP WITH CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• For the meatballs,.
• In a large bowl combine ground chicken, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, fennel seeds, milk, egg, salt, and pepper.
• Combine gently with a fork.
• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto sheet pan. You should have about 40 meatballs.
• Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
• In the meantime, for the soup.
• Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot.
• Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil.
• Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender.
• Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper.
• Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted.
• Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.
• Notes.
• You can also subsitute escarole for spinach in this recipe.
• Gran Pandano is a less expersive parm cheese Only parm cheese from a certain area and certain cows can be stamped parm reggiano the King of cheeses in Italy.
• To make quick meatballs, divide up meat mixture into quarters. Roll each quarter into a long log and then cut into pieces. You can then roll the pieces into meatballs (or not - shape doesn't matter in the soup).