Saturday Lunch - Turkey Meatball and Spinach Soup

Believe me when I say that this is so much better than it sounds. Hearty, filling, full of flavour, this soup can be either a lunch (which it was on Saturday) or dinner any night of the week when you're in a hurry. Sometimes I make this soup with orzo, that rice shaped pasta. But since we had none in the cupboard, I used little tubes known as ditalini.

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Turkey Meatball and Spinach Soup
(print recipe)


For Meatballs:

1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme)

Mix together the ingredients for the meatballs. Form into 1 inch balls. You should get about 30 meatballs from one pound of ground meat. Refrigerate while making heating soup mixture.

For Soup:

8 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 TBS salt
1 tsp pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 cup orzo or ditalini pasta

1 pkg baby spinach leaves - washed

In a large saucepan, heat chicken stock and water till boiling. Add salt and pepper, onion and carrots. Simmer for 10 minutes till vegetables are soft. Drop in meatballs and bring back to a slow boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add pasta and continue to cook soup until pasta is tender and meatballs are cooked through, about 10 more minutes. Add spinach and let simmer till softened - 5 minutes. 

Serve with some grated parmesan. 

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