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–+ servings

Full GAPS Italian Wedding Soup With Meatballs and Spinach

A stovetop Full GAPS soup with beef meatballs, carrots, spinach, homemade chicken or beef meat stock, and a tempered egg finish.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: GAPS
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tbsp homemade ghee or coconut oil; use homemade ghee for Full GAPS
  • 1/2 medium white onion diced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • sea salt and black pepper to taste
  • 6-8 cups homemade chicken or beef meat stock made from raw meat-bearing pieces
  • 2 medium carrots diced
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil optional; drizzle on at serving
  • 1 lb fresh ground beef
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 tsp pure garlic powder without additives
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

Equipment

  • 1 Le Creuset Signature Oval Dutch Oven, Artichaut, 6.75 quart Roomy, heavy pot for the full 6-to-8-cup stock range and meatballs.
  • 1 Medium mixing bowl For mixing and shaping the meatballs.
  • 1 Instant-read food thermometer Check the center of the largest meatball and the egg-containing soup.
  • 1 Ladle For serving the soup and measuring hot broth to temper the egg.

Method
 

  1. Dice the onion and celery, mince the garlic, dice the carrots and chop the parsley. Beat the egg in a small bowl. Set out the chicken or beef meat stock.
  2. Warm homemade ghee or coconut oil in a roomy soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and stir for about 2 minutes. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant and the onion is translucent without browning.
  3. Pour in 6 to 8 cups homemade chicken or beef meat stock and stir in the carrots. Bring to a gentle simmer with small bubbles at the edge of the pot.
  4. While the stock warms, mix the ground beef with the listed sea salt and pepper, garlic powder, and 2 tablespoons parsley just until combined. Roll into evenly sized 1-inch meatballs.
  5. Lower the meatballs into the simmering soup. Cook uncovered about 15 minutes, keeping a gentle simmer. Stir carefully around the meatballs. The carrots should be fork-tender and the center of the largest meatball should reach 160°F.
  6. Stir in the baby spinach and the other 2 tablespoons parsley. Whisk one cup of hot broth slowly into the beaten egg to temper it.
  7. Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the pot while stirring. Keep over low heat and stir until the egg-containing soup reaches 160°F. Do not boil. Ladle into bowls and drizzle with optional cold-pressed olive oil.

Notes

Makes 6 servings. Preparation and cook times are estimates; the pot can take longer to return to a simmer with 8 cups of stock.
Use 6 cups for a more concentrated soup or move toward 8 cups for more broth. Taste before adding extra salt if your stock is salted.
For Full GAPS, use homemade ghee or coconut oil instead of butter. Use homemade meat stock, not bare-bone broth. Chicken and beef meat stock both work.
Full GAPS as written. This is not an Introduction Diet recipe because it includes garlic powder, black pepper, spinach and cooked whole egg.
Check ground beef meatballs at 160°F. Heat the egg-containing soup to 160°F without boiling. Reheat leftovers to 165°F.
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers and use within 3 to 4 days.

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