Italian Wedding
God I don’t like soup. I mean what is a soup really? It’s not quite a stew and not quite chili. And it is by far the worst of the meat and liquid combinations. Who even thought of boiling water with herbs, spices and meat together? I honestly think that someone accidentally dropped the ingredients into a pot of hot water and decided they couldn’t waste the precious resources. More likely it was probably just a way to stay warm and slowly over time turned into different recipes, but I digress…
Although I’m not personally a huge fan of soup, one soup stands above the rest — and that is Italian Wedding soup. It is the culmination of herbs, spices, broth and possibly meat which culminates into a tasty combination of solids and liquids. The name of this wet masterpiece draws the perfect picture of what a good soup really is… It’s almost like the vastly different worlds of solids and liquids were married in order to make this scrumptious union.
The chef acts as the minister that marries these two different families, perfectly crafting his recipe as if it was memorized for a ceremony. The two parties getting married are the broth and meatballs (I mean what kind of Italian wedding wouldn’t have meatballs?). The broth invites her bride’s maids and family — the spices, which help her get ready hours before the ceremony, and the meatball invites his family, the herbs, and if there’s enough room they may invite the meatball’s wacky uncle, chicken, if there are enough room. They also make sure to invite their close mutual friends, the vegetables. This includes: carrots, celery, parsley, onion and spinach.
Let’s not forget about the booze. I mean honestly, what kind of wedding would be complete without a little alcohol? So let’s add a little white wine in there as well. Once the parties get married, or this case, put in the pot, the reception can begin. All the invited friends and family dance in the pot for a little bit before getting soft and overheated. Finally, everyone goes their separate ways into a bowl to be eaten, slurped and enjoyed.
All jokes aside, A recipe can be looked at as your family’s heritage. Family recipes are handed down from generation to generation and can reflect what your heritage means to you. For example, I am Italian, and I love all things Italian. And of all Italian cuisine, meatballs are one of my favorite items. They are the perfect side dish, topping or meal itself. Prior to my grandmother’s passing she used to make stuffed meatballs. To this day I can remember her slaving in the kitchen meticulously hand-rolling the fist-sized meatballs, stuffed with cheese and topped with a savory marinara sauce.
I also remember her putting the same time and care into the pint-sized version for her family renowned Italian wedding soup. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t think I would have given soup a real chance. To this day there are only about 4 soups I will actually eat, and, of course, my grandmothers Italian wedding is one of them. Every time my mom now makes it, I get a warm reminder of my family and my grandmother.
