Italian Wedding Soup, plant based

Have you ever had Italian Wedding Soup from a can and thought to yourself, "This is good but it could be better"?  I discovered Italian Wedding Soup as an adult so I do not have a family recipe or childhood memories or expectations but it seems to me the soup from a can is basically just meatballs and broth with the occasional piece of celery or carrot swimming by.  Delightful yet lacking.

Italian Wedding Soup before adding fresh spinach

I wanted to take the idea of this soup and turn it into a hearty winter meal.  But I didn't want to stand in the kitchen for hours after work making meatballs.  I also thought it should actually be more like a dumpling, or a wrapped meatball so it would stay intact in the broth.  I also wanted to add some greens to the soup right before serving.  And of course, I didn't want to eat meat or serve meat to people I care about.

Italian Wedding Soup, without added fats or meat

Recipe:

12 cups water

1.5 cups Bob's Red Mill Bean soup mix

1 tablespoon Better Than Beef bouillon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

a dash of black pepper

     

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup diced celery

1 cup thinly sliced carrots

2 cups sliced mushrooms

Any other vegetable you would like to add such as broccoli, bok choy, etc.

1 bag frozen non-meat meatballs such as Nate's Meatless Meatballs 10.5 oz.

1 package round dumpling wrappers, Twin Dragon Brand 

6 cups fresh baby spinach

Simmer soup mix in water with bouillon for at least 90 minutes before adding mushrooms, corn, peas and celery.  You may have to add more water to maintain a broth.  Simmer another 10 minutes and then add the wrapped dumplings.

To make the wrapped meatball dumplings, take each meatball while still frozen or partially frozen and cut in half.  Wet the edges of a dumpling wrapper and wrap the half meatball to seal and set aside.  When all the dumplings are made, add all at once to the simmering soup and cook until the dumplings are translucent, about 10 minutes.  Add the spinach and stir to wilt.

Serve with a sprinkling of nutritional yeast.