Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup

pressureluckcooking.com

Lori Jones

subheading: The Meatballs:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed

½ pound ground beef (80 to 85% lean. The less lean, the better)

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

⅓ cup breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons (6 cloves) garlic, crushed or minced

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried parsley

⅓ cup whole milk

1 large egg, slightly beaten

subheading: The Soup:

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 large shallots, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

3 ribs celery, diced (with green, leafy tops reserved)

1 tablespoon (3 cloves) garlic, crushed or minced

1 bunch (about 1 packed cup) fresh basil leaves, stems removed

1 cup cooking sherry wine (if you wish to leave this out, simply add another cup of broth. NOTE: Also, see the yellow “Jeffrey Sez” section for a word on sherry and its intensity)

7 cups chicken or garlic broth (such as 7 teaspoons Garlic Better Than Bouillon 7 cups water)

1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 ½ teaspoons oregano

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoons black pepper

½ teaspoon seasoned salt (optional. NOTE: The sherry and juices from the sausage will already give the soup a rich, savory flavor and you don’t want it to be too over the top. If you wish, once cooking is complete, stir in ½ teaspoon and taste. If you want more, add more to your liking. Adding salt as desired just before serving gives you the control.)

1/4 – 1/2 cup acini di pepe (pearl) pasta (NOTE: This may not seem like much when dry but trust me, it grows to about 3x the size and absorbs plenty of broth once cooked. While acini di pepe is preferred, you can alternatively use pastina, ditalini or orzo. If using pastina, the same amount applies as for the acini di pepe. If using ditalini or orzo, you can use up to 3/4 – 1 cup.) ¼ to ½ cup acini di pepe (pearl) pasta (NOTE: This may not seem like much when dry but trust me, it grows to about 3x the size and absorbs plenty of broth once cooked. While acini di pepe is preferred, you can alternatively use pastina, ditalini or orzo. If using pastina, the same amount applies as for the acini di pepe. If using ditalini or orzo, you can use up to ¾ to 1 cup.)

5-8 ounces baby spinach

Cooking sherry wine is a strong mix of sweet & savory. I use 1 cup in my recipe because I enjoy that intensity. However, you can absolutely halve the sherry to 1/2 cup or even 1/4 cup and just make up for it with another 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup of broth, respectively. To that point, if you feel you added more sherry than you wished, you can easily rectify this by adding more broth or simply water at the end until it’s to your liking. Or, as stated in the ingredients, you can leave the sherry out completely and sub for more broth (we want 8 cups of liquid in the pot when all’s said and done). But if you leave the sherry out, you’ll likely definitely want to add at least 1/2 teaspoon of the seasoned salt (or more to taste) to make up for flavor. Cooking sherry wine is a strong mix of sweet & savory. I use 1 cup in my recipe because I enjoy that intensity. However, you can absolutely halve the sherry to ½ cup or even ¼ cup and just make up for it with another ½ cup or ¾ cup of broth, respectively. To that point, if you feel you added more sherry than you wished, you can easily rectify this by adding more broth or simply water at the end until it’s to your liking. Or, as stated in the ingredients, you can leave the sherry out completely and sub for more broth (we want 8 cups of liquid in the pot when all’s said and done). But if you leave the sherry out, you’ll likely definitely want to add at least ½ teaspoon of the seasoned salt (or more to taste) to make up for flavor.

Directions at pressureluckcooking.com

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