Turkey Meatball Soup
A meatball dropped into a pot of broth may be one of the most practical ideas in the history of home cooking.
Across Europe, cooks have long combined seasoned ground meat with broth, vegetables, grains, greens, or noodles, producing soups that vary dramatically from one region to the next. Romania has its ciorbă de perișoare, traditionally made with pork-and-rice meatballs in a sour broth flavored with vegetables and herbs. Greece has youvarlakia, meatballs containing rice and commonly finished with avgolemono, the familiar mixture of egg and lemon that gives the broth body and its distinctive tartness. Italy offers another branch of the story through the meat-and-greens soups of Campania.
That Italian history is particularly worth getting right. The dish Americans know as Italian wedding soup is related to the Neapolitan tradition of minestra or zuppa maritata. The name refers to the “marriage” of meat and vegetables in the pot, rather than a soup traditionally created for wedding celebrations. Older versions could contain several meats along with an assortment of available greens, making a substantial dish from ingredients a household could stretch into a large pot.
Turkey Meatball Soup belongs to the same broad cooking tradition of meat, broth, and vegetables, although this particular combination is very much suited to the contemporary American kitchen.
Ground turkey makes a tender meatball when it is handled with some care. Because turkey is relatively lean, breadcrumbs and egg help hold the mixture together while Parmesan brings saltiness and savory depth. Fresh parsley, onion, garlic, and Worcestershire season the meat all the way through. Browning the meatballs before they enter the soup gives their surfaces deeper flavor and keeps them intact once they meet the broth.
The soup itself begins with the combination that has started countless American pots of chicken soup: onion, carrot, and celery cooked until they soften. Garlic and thyme follow, then broth, spinach, and small pasta shells. There is enough going on in the bowl to make it substantial, while the broth remains clear enough that you can taste each part of it.
I especially like small shells here because they catch bits of parsley, softened vegetables, and broth in their curved centers. Cooking the pasta separately also solves a problem anyone who has refrigerated pasta soup knows well. Pasta continues absorbing liquid as it sits. Kept separate, the shells can be spooned into individual bowls before the hot soup is ladled over them, and tomorrow’s pot will still contain broth rather than swollen pasta.
The meatballs should be small, about an inch across. That size matters. A large meatball turns the bowl into a knife-and-fork affair. Smaller ones can be picked up easily with a soup spoon alongside a carrot slice, a few shells, and wilted spinach. It makes the whole dish more pleasant to eat and distributes the turkey throughout the pot.
There is also plenty of room to adjust the final bowl at the stove. Chicken broth gives it a fuller poultry flavor, while vegetable broth keeps the background lighter. Spinach needs only enough heat to collapse into the broth. Parmesan can be grated over the top at the table, and a squeeze of lemon is a good addition if you want a sharper finish.
This is the kind of soup I want when the weather finally calls for the Dutch oven again: plenty of vegetables, tender meatballs, pasta in nearly every spoonful, and a broth seasoned well enough to stand on its own.
Its relatives may be found in kitchens thousands of miles apart, each shaped by different ingredients and traditions. That may be the most interesting part of meatball soup. The basic idea has traveled remarkably well. Take seasoned meat, make it stretch, surround it with broth and whatever the kitchen has on hand, and turn one pot into a complete meal.
Until next time, thank you for spending a little time with me. I hope you find a recipe to make, a story to enjoy, and something new to take into the kitchen. ♥️
Turkey Meatball Soup
PREP TIME: 25 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 45 minutes
SERVINGS: 6 SERVINGS
Ingredients:
For the Turkey Meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
1 egg
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
For the Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves
2 cups cooked small pasta shells (al dente)
Fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions:
To make the meatballs:
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, onion, parsley, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, egg, salt, and pepper. Mix until evenly blended, then shape into small 1-inch meatballs.
- Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until browned and cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
To make the soup:
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Pour in the broth, add thyme, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the cooked turkey meatballs and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes so the flavors can develop.
- Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the pasta shells just before serving to maintain their texture, or ladle them directly into bowls before adding the soup. Adjust seasoning to taste, then garnish with chopped parsley.
