Served in times past to the honoured guests of Italian royal weddings, this heady broth of meat and greens became known as minestra maritata, or “married soup” (later slightly mistranslated to its present name in English). Still massively popular among Italian families in the United States and across the diaspora, it’s often held up as a prime example of native cuisine that has survived the passage of time and distance almost perfectly unchanged
| Created by | Spinneys |
| Prep time | 20 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Serves | 4-6 |
| Cuisine | Italian |
| Diet | Other |
| Preparation | Easy |
| Calories | 474 |
| Fat | 27.9g |
| Saturates | 10.4g |
| Protein | 23g |
| Carbs | 34.1g |
| Sugars | 5g |
| Given the cook-at-home nature of Spinneys and natural variations in ingredients, nutritional information is approximated. See details | |
Ingredients
Cooking Instructions
Download PDFHeat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium-high heat. Add half the meatballs and cook until browned, turning every now and then, approx. 5 minutes. Remove the cooked meatballs from the pan. Repeat the process with the remaining meatballs. The meatballs won’t be cooked through at this point, they’ll continue to cook through in the soup.
While the meatballs are browning, peel and finely dice the carrots, slice the leek and celery. Wash and roughly chop the spinach.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat. Add in the carrots, leeks, celery and thyme. Sauté until softened, approx. 5-10 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add in the pasta and meatballs and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender and the meatballs have cooked through, approx.10 minutes. Add in the spinach during the last minute of cooking.
Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle over the grated cheese. Serve immediately.
