I made this Italian North American soup for a family party, and since then the fam has clamoured for it again and again. Forming the meatballs takes time; they must be small enough to fit on a soup spoon. I usually turn on the TV and watch my favourite show while forming the meatballs. Acini de pepe means peppercorn and indeed, the pasta in this soup is about the size of a peppercorn. You may use pastini as a substitute. I never cook pasta in my soup as it tends to soak up too much broth. I cook and store pasta separately from the soup. Doing so also makes it easier to dole out the desired amount of pasta into each bowl before ladling in the soup.

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