Vegan Italian Wedding Soup

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

1 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) can cannellini beans, (drained and rinsed)

1 egg

1 small onion, (diced)

3 garlic cloves, (minced)

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, (chopped)

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, (optional, plus more to taste)

2 teaspoons olive oil, (or as needed)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, (diced)

2 medium carrots, (sliced)

1 medium fennel bulb, (diced)

3 garlic cloves, (minced)

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried oregano

8 cups vegetable broth

3/4 cup dried orzo pasta

6 ounces fresh spinach leaves, (roughly chopped if they are large, about 6 cups)

Salt and pepper, (to taste)

Vegan Parmesan cheese

Directions

Make the Meatballs:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place all ingredients except for the olive oil into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the machine until all ingredients are well chopped and mixed, stopping to scrape down the inside of the bowl as needed.

Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls, using about 2 teaspoons of mixture per ball (Note 1). You will get about 30 to 35 of them. Arrange the balls the prepared baking sheet. Lightly spray or brush them with olive oil.

Bake the meatballs for about 20 minutes, until they're browned on the bottoms.

Make the Soup:

Coat the bottom of a large pot with olive oil and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots and fennel. Sweat the vegetables until they begin to soften a bit, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic to the pot and sauté it with the vegetables until it becomes very fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the wine, thyme, and oregano. Raise the heat and bring the wine to a simmer. Lower the heat and let the wine simmer until it has reduced by about half, which should take about 4 minutes.

Stir in the broth, then raise heat to high. Bring the broth to a boil, then lower the heat and allow it to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Stir in the orzo. Continue to simmer the soup until the orzo is al dente, about 10 minutes.

Stir in the spinach and let the soup continue simmering until the spinach has wilted and the pasta is tender, about 2 minutes.

Remove the pot from heat and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls, then add a few meatballs to each bowl. Serve with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 cups
• Calories: 299 kcal
• Total Fat: 9.6 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.6 g
• Sodium: 1296 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 33.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 8.3 g
• Total Sugars: 4.8 g
• Protein: 13.9 g