I highly doubt any vegan version of this soup will come near my mommom's traditional Italian wedding soup, but this recipe definitely scratches the itch.
Source: The Cheeky Chickpea | Serves: 6-8 | Time: 40 min
Changes: skipped cabbage because I've never had Italian wedding soup with cabbage; doubled spinach to make up for the lack of cabbage; skipped dill because I feel like it just doesn't make sense for a Mediterranean meal.
Ingredients
4 beyond meat hot italian vegan sausages
1 to 2 tablespoons oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 and 1/2 cups carrots, diced
3 - 4 garlic cloves, chopped
8 cups veggie broth (always homemade to reduce sodium)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon each of dried italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (add more at end if needed)
1/3 to 1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta
4 cups spinach, packed
1 tsp to 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Meatballs: Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment. Add sausages to a bowl and remove casings if you like. Mix together and roll into small meatballs, 1 tablespoon in size (not heaped). You should get around 35 meatballs. Place evenly on the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes and set aside.
Start the soup: while the meatballs are cooking, start the soup. Add the oil, onions, carrots, celery, and pinch of salt and pepper to a soup pot/dutch oven. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Stir in the garlic until fragrant.
Simmer: Pour in the veggie stock, fresh parsley, the dried spices and salt. Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce to a good simmer for 10 minutes.
Add meatballs and pasta: Uncover and stir in the pasta and meatballs, bring back up to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce to a simmer again for 7 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
Season and serve: Remove from heat, stir in the spinach, dill and vinegar if using. Season with salt and pepper and add more broth if needed. Serve and enjoy!