Italian Wedding Pasta Bowls

All the flavors of Italian Wedding Soup but in a pasta bowl. Best part? Diners can assemble as they like, so this is perfect for picky eaters.

You can mix up the meatball mixture the night before or in the morning. Then when you're ready to cook, you slice the carrots and get the oven doing it's thing. The rest comes together quickly.

Italian Wedding Pasta Bowls

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Meatballs

1/4 cup water

1 large egg

1/2 cup panko

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

2 T nutrition yeast or 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

salt and black pepper, divided

1.5 pounds ground chicken

8 carrots, scrubbed and sliced on an angle into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 T bouillon

1 1/2 cups pastina or orzo

3 cups water

1 small bag frozen spinach, or use 4 cups fresh baby spinach (about 4 ounces)

Parsley Salad

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 large shallot, thinly sliced (soaked in cool water for at least 5 minutes to get rid of the onion-bite, if you'd like; drain well before using

Directions

Season your meatballs

Whisk together 1/4 cup water and egg in a large bowl until combined. Stir in panko, garlic, chopped parsley, nutritional yeast, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper until just combined. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add minced chicken, and mix gently until just combined. You can cover the bowl and set aside until ready to bake. If it will be longer than 30 minutes, slide the covered bowl into the fridge.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425°F. Line 2 baking pans with foil.

On one pan, toss carrots with 1 T olive oil, sprinkle of salt and pepper. Settle the carrots into a mostly-single layer. Slide the pan into the oven, and start roasting.

Meanwhile, on the other pan, shape meat mixture into 30 meatballs (about 1 1/2 heaping tablespoons each).

Once the carrots have roasted for about 20 minutes, slide, the pan with the meatballs into the oven (carrots will be golden and lovely in about 45 minutes; meatballs will cook through in about 25 minutes).

While carrots and meatballs are baking, heat medium pot over medium heat. Add 1 T olive oil and bouillon and pasta stirring well to coat. Once it smells toasty, add water, and stirring occasionally, cook until most of the water is absorbed, about 6 - 10 minutes. Fold in spinach until just wilted, about 1 minute.

In a medium bowl, toss together lemon juice, shallots (well drained), 1 cup parsley leaves, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, divide pasta evenly among 4 bowls; top with meatballs, carrots, and parsley salad. Enjoy!