Italian Wedding Soup with Ancient Tuscan Grain Pasta

Servings: 6

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For the Soup:

• 1 Tbsp Batistini Farms USDA Organic 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, or Lemon EVOO
• 1 1/4 cups Carrots, diced
• 1 large Yellow Onion, finely diced
• 3/4 cup Celery, diced, about 2 celery stalks
• 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 2 (32 fl oz) Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 cups Batistini Farms Ancient Tuscan Grain Pasta, cooked to al dente, about 8 minutes
• 2 Lemons, juiced
• 6 oz Fresh Spinach or Tuscan Kale, chopped
• Finely shredded parmesan , for serving

For the Meatballs:

• 8 oz Lean Ground Beef, or Ground Bison

• 8 oz Italian Chicken Sausage (about 4 sausages) or Italian Pork, taken out of casing
• 1/2 cup Fine Breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp. Fresh. Oregano, chopped
• 1/2 cup Parmesan, finely shredded
• 1 large Egg
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tbsp. Batistini Farms USDA Organic 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the Meatballs:

• Add the ground beef and chicken/pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in the bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, salt and pepper.
• Gently toss and break up mixture with your hands until well-combined. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 1 inch, and transfer to a large plate.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally to brown on 2-3 sides, about 4 minutes total.
• Transfer the meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat with remaining meatballs (the meatballs won't be fully cooked at this point, but will continue to cook through later).

For the Soup:

• While meatballs are browning, heat up the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced carrots, onions and celery and saute until softened, about 6 - 8 minutes. Add the garlic, the saute for one more minute, or until fragrant.
• Pour in chicken broth and lemon juice, bring to a boil, then add in pasta (already cooked to al dente, about 8 minutes) and meatballs. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add in the spinach / kale in the last minute of cooking.
• Serve warm with a garnishing of parmesan cheese on each serving!