Italian Recipe ★ Italian Wedding Soup with Venison Meatballs

I'm always looking for new ways to use the ground venison in the freezer and this is one of my favorites. The Italian sausage not only adds just the right amount of fat that venison needs but it is also seasoned so well that you don't need to add a lot of extra herbs to the soup. Leftovers hold up nicely. The pasta holds its texture and doesn't absorb all of the broth when refrigerated overnight.

Ingredients

• ½ pound ground venison
• ½ pound bulk Italian sausage
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• ½ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 ribs celery, sliced
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 (32 ounce) cartons chicken broth
• 1 cup acini di pepe pasta
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
• ½ (6 ounce) package fresh baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 pinch salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Cooking Directions

1. Combine venison, sausage, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, and egg in a large bowl; mix until evenly combined. Form mixture into fifty 1-inch meatballs.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook for 4 minutes, flipping halfway, to get an even brown on all sides. Transfer with tongs to a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Heat oil for soup in a large soup pot. Add celery, carrot, and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add broth and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta, oregano, and meatballs. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Turn heat off and let soup sit for 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and lemon juice. Ladle into bowls, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition Facts

• calories332.4
• carbohydrateContent31.7 g
• cholesterolContent67.9 mg
• fatContent13.6 g
• fiberContent2 g
• proteinContent19.5 g
• saturatedFatContent4.2 g
• sodiumContent1537.6 mg
• sugarContent4.1 g