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Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Duck Meatballs
The La Crema Culinary Team’s Italian Wedding Soup with Duck Meatballs is a crowd-pleasing dish that combines rich flavors and comforting ingredients for a truly memorable meal.
This soup is completely made from scratch, and involves a pretty detailed butchering of an entire duck. But, if you have access to a local specialty food store butcher, the lions share of the work (including grinding the duck meat and de-boning the bird) can be handled by a professional with professional equipment.
In the end, you will have a rich, earthy broth and succulent duck meatballs as a reward for your effort. And it pairs marvelously with our Russian River Pinot Noir.
But First, What is Italian Wedding Soup?
Italian Wedding Soup, known as "minestra maritata" in Italian, translates to "married soup," referring to the harmonious blend of flavors from greens, meat, and broth. It's a hearty dish featuring tender meatballs, vegetables, and small pasta simmered in a savory broth.Why Duck?
Duck adds a rich, savory depth to Italian Wedding Soup that elevates the dish from classic to extraordinary. Its slightly gamey flavor and higher fat content give the meatballs a moist, tender texture and a bold taste that perfectly complements the earthy broth. While traditional recipes use a mix of pork and beef, duck offers a sophisticated twist, making each bite feel luxurious and unique. Plus, duck is often a more sustainable option when sourced responsibly, supporting small-scale farms that raise ducks humanely. So why duck? It’s the secret ingredient that takes this soup to the next level.Italian Wedding Soup with Duck Meatballs
Author: La Crema Culinary Team
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 2 Tbsp. duck fat or oil
- ½ onion, minced (top & bottom reserved for soup)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. pork butt, ground
- 1 whole duck, breasts & legs removed, deboned and ground (bones chopped into 3-inch pieces & reserved for soup)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 8 sprigs fresh thyme, picked & chopped (stems reserved for soup)
- 2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 Tbsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
For the soup
- Reserved duck bones from meatball recipe, above
- 8 quarts water
- ½ cup red wine, such as Pinot Noir
- 3 stalks celery, diced (top & bottoms reserved)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 Tbsp. duck fat or oil
- ½ onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. maitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed & cut into ½-inch strips
- 2 cups acini de pepe pasta
- 4 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 375⁰F.
- In a pan, add duck fat, minced onion and garlic. Cook over low heat until tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Scoop out 65 (1-ounce) balls and roll in your hands to form.
- Place on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 7 minutes.
For the soup
- Preheat the oven to 375⁰F.
- Place the reserved duck bones in a roasting pan and roast until browned, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven, drain off the fat and place the bones in a large pot. Cover with 8 quarts water.
- Deglaze the roasting pan with wine, being sure to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan; add this to the pot with the duck bones.
- Add reserved onion & celery scraps, thyme stems and bay leaf. Bring to a light boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2 hours, skimming off any foam. Strain and reserve.
- In a pot, add duck fat, diced onion, celery and garlic. Cook over low heat until tender. Add reserved duck stock, mushrooms, kale and meatballs. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until pasta is tender, approximately 5 minutes.
Serving instructions
- Place 3-4 duck meatballs in a bowl and ladle soup over meatballs. Finish with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.
