Nothing beats a comforting low carb soup on a cold dreary day. This classic Italian Wedding Soup is sure to hit the spot!
So it kinda sorta snowed in Portland yesterday. By which I mean it really wanted to snow but couldn’t quite muster up the energy. There weren’t really visible flakes in the air unless you looked really hard in exactly the right direction with your eyes half-crossed. It seemed like it was really just rain. It But when the raindrops hit my windshield, they hit heavily and left something of a melting snowflake impression. It wasn’t even sleet or freezing rain, it was just Pacific Northwest rain that wanted to be snow but didn’t quite know how. It did actually snow up in the hills near the zoo, but down here it was only kinda sorta snow that didn’t leave a trace on the ground.
It was cold though. The kind of wet cold that chills you to the bone. The kind of wet cold that chills you to the bone and makes you dream of warm comforting soup. Warm comforting soup like Italian Wedding Soup, with luscious meatballs and plenty of parmesan cheese. Only skip the pasta, please, and pop in some cauliflower rice. Now you’ve just amped up your nutrient quotient and managed to warm yourself up. The perfect meal for a day when it kinda sorta snows.
All that’s pretty great, but what if I told you that you could also win this gorgeous soup tureen from Lagostina? It’s a stunning double-walled stainless steel pot that can go from stove to table, it looks so nice. An elegant design with an ash knob so you can lift the lid with your bare hands, no matter how hot it is. The pot itself is also oven-safe, although the lid is not because of the wooden handle. It also comes with a stainless ladle and an ash polenta stick. Ostensibly, this pot is designed for two classic Italian dishes, minestrone and polenta. But it’s truly a multipurpose soup or stewpot. And it retails at Williams Sonoma for $199.
I will be honest and say I’d never heard of Lagostina until I was offered this pot to try. But I’ve poked around a bit and they have some absolutely gorgeous cookware. My experience with the line thus far is extremely favourable. My stove is very high-powered and I often have trouble when I try to sauté onions and other veggies, as they brown too quickly. But the double-walled design of this pot helped me soften them without browning, which is ideal for a soup like Italian Wedding.
Low Carb Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatbals:
- 1 lb ground beef OR ground pork
- 1/2 cup crushed pork rinds OR almond flour
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 large egg
Soup:
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 4 celery stalks chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups riced cauliflower
- 2 cups packed spinach leaves
- Additional salt and pepper
- Parmesan for sprinkling
Instructions
Meatballs:
- In a large bowl, mix together the ground meat, crushed pork rinds, cheese, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Add the egg and combine well using your hands.
- Form into 1/2 inch meatballs and place on a waxed paper-lined tray. Refrigerate until ready to add to the soup.
Soup:
- In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, celery, salt, and pepper and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute.
- Stir in the chicken broth and oregano. Bring to just a boil and then reduce the temperature and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the cauliflower rice and the meatballs and cook until the meatballs are cooked through and float to the top, about 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted, 2 minutes more. Season to taste
Notes
Total fat: 20.16g
Calories from fat: 181
Cholesterol: 73mg
Carbohydrate: 5.73g
Total dietary fiber: 1.86g
Protein: 29.48g
Nutrition
