You don’t have to be Italian to fall in love with Italian Wedding Soup. It’s a meal. And fall in love you will, along with any friends and family you serve it to. Alex Chen may be the winningest Chef in Canada. Born in Malaysia, his family came to Canada when he was 13 years old. Today, he is a classically trained chef with a true taste for high-pressure culinary competitions, Alex led Team Canada to a top-10 finish at the 2013 Bocuse d’Or in Lyon, France prior to opening Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in Vancouver in 2014. He went on to claim the top spot in both the 2015 and 2017 editions of the annual Gold Medal Plates BC regional championships as well as the gold medal at the 2018 Canadian Culinary Championships. In April 2018, he was singled out for the prestigious Chef of the Year title at the 2018 Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards, where Boulevard was also honoured with wins in the Best Upscale and Best Seafood categories. In November of 2018, Alex became the first challenger whose cuisine reigned supreme on the inaugural season of Iron Chef Canada when he defeated Iron Chef Hugh Acheson in the fourth episode of the Food Network Canada’s cooking competition television show. Alex Chen is also the Ambassador for All Clad cookware and recommends using it in this recipe.
Alex Chen’s Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients:
200g Onion, medium dice
15g Minced garlic
150g Medium dice carrots
150g Medium dice red peppers
150g Medium dice fennel
1 Bay leaf
150g Fregola Sarda
5L Chicken stock
Parmesan cheese, 20g grated fine
2 Whole eggs
Bouquet garni (leek, thyme, oregano, parsley, tie in a cheese cloth)
20g Chopped parsley
Meatball
450g Ground beef
20g Bread crumbs
1 Whole egg
1 Garlic cloves, minced
½ Large onion, fine minced
15g Chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to season
Directions:
1. Mix all the meat together and start rolling the balls into 5g each meatballs
2. In the All-Clad d3 Stainless Dutch Oven, cook vegetables for 2 mins
3. Add in chicken stock and bring it to a boil, turn it to simmer
4. Add in Fregola and simmer for 10 minutes
5. Add in meatballs and simmer for 5 more minutes
6. Take the All-Clad d3 Stainless Dutch Oven, off the heat
7. In a bowl whisk together eggs and 20g of grated parmesan cheese
8. While the soup is hot, whisk in the egg
9. Serve with chopped parsley
