This is one of those recipes that brings back memories. My mother and grandmother made this on special occasions. As a kid I remember not wanting to try it. For some reason endive just doesn’t sound appealing to kids, but after I tried this as a teenager, I couldn’t get enough!

This is the traditional way my mom and grandmother made it, but you can vary it by using carrots, adding pork or veal to the meatballs and using escarole or spinach to substitute for the endive!

Italian wedding soup ingredients

2 Bone-in Chicken Breasts (or 2 boneless if using quick method)
Chicken Broth – 64 ounces (if using quick method)
1 bunch endive
1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1/2 cup Romano cheese
1/4 bread crumbs
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Italian wedding soup method

Put 2 chicken breast in large pot of water (approx 3 quarts). Bring to boil and boil for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (For a quicker method, poach 2 boneless breasts in water for 30 minutes and use store bought chicken broth for the stock – approximately 64 ounces)

Remove chicken from pot and allow to cool. Cut into small pieces.

Add salt and pepper to broth and simmer. (For quick method – simmer 30 mins with boneless chicken breast and discard the water after – use store bought chicken broth)

Mix ground beef, cheese, bread crumbs, eggs, salt and pepper and make meatballs the size of a marble.

Bake the meatballs in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Chop the endive finely and add to the broth while meatballs are cooking.
Add the meatballs and diced chicken and simmer for 5 minutes.

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Ciao! Mike.