Try this Turkey Meatball Soup recipe
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp butter
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 small onion
- 1 lb ground turkey extra lean
- 8 cups water or vegetable/chicken stock
- 2 vegetable/chicken bouillon cubes*
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 2 large celery stalks chopped
- 2 cups (8 oz) potatoes coarsely chopped**
- 1 + 1/2 cup (6 oz) small brown rice or whole wheat p uncooked
- 1 + 1/2 tsp salt divided
- 1 + 1/2 tsp ground black pepper divided
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley dill, green onions or leeks, chopped
- Carbohydrate 25.1075850049112 g
- Cholesterol 567.341290526162 mg
- Fat 42.0521842924818 g
- Fiber 7.98540001576493 g
- Protein 109.841496451404 g
- Saturated Fat 20.6765325213529 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (889g)
- Sodium 731.339659113474 mg
- Sugar 17.1221849891463 g
- Trans Fat 4.85391263987608 g
- Calories 930 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large pot, add water or stock and bring to a boil on medium - high heat. Add bouillon cubes, if using water, along with carrots, celery and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low - medium for 10 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, puree onion, egg, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper in a food processor or a powerful blender. Alternatively, you can use grater. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl along with turkey and mix well with your hands.
- Using a small scoop or your hands, form golf size meatballs and add them to the pot. Add potatoes, bring to a boil, cover and cook on low for 15 minutes.
- Add pasta and cook for 7 minutes if using brown rice pasta or 10 minutes for whole wheat.
- Add remaining salt, pepper, butter and your choice of herbs. Serve hot.
Pureeing the onion in a food processor yields a microscopic mince that releases maximal moisture into the lean turkey, but a standard box grater produces an identical cell-rupturing effect if motorized equipment is unavailable. Mixing ground meats by hand requires cold temperature control; warm hands render the intramuscular fat prematurely, altering the final texture of the proteins. Simmering root vegetables while simultaneously processing the meat matrix maximizes active kitchen minutes during the initial 10-minute soup base development. Starch selection dictates the final pot timing because brown rice pasta disintegrates past 7 minutes of rolling agitation, whereas whole wheat varieties tolerate up to 10 minutes of heat. Water paired with commercial bouillon cubes delivers identical sodium levels and backbone depth to homemade stock without requiring overnight simmering or freezer inventory. Finishing the broth with a tablespoon of dairy butter introduces milk solids that coat the palate, masking the inherent dryness of extra-lean poultry without heavy cream. Portioning raw golf-sized spheres directly into simmering liquid sets the exterior albumin instantly, preventing structural disintegration during the subsequent 15-minute cover phase.
