The season is changing here in New England and so are my taste buds when it comes to a warm bowl of soup.

Quick recipe overview:

For this dish we’ll be combining some of my favorite ingredients like spicy jalapeños, garlic, the zest of a juicy lime and fresh ginger then adding them to ground turkey meat and making some mouth watering turkey meatballs. The star of this show is the fresh ginger. We will be mincing it for the turkey balls and thinly slicing it for the broth. Ginger is loved by so many not only for its peppery, yet sweet citrus flavor, but for all of the proven health benefits it packs in. I’ve attached 2 links below; one for preparing fresh ginger from fellow foodies at TheKitchen.com as it can be a bit tricky if you’re not familiar, and the other for some cool facts and health benefits.

https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-peel-and-mince-fresh-ginger-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-182774

 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-ginger  

                                                                                                                  (Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

You’ll notice we’ll be adding raw rice to this turkey mixture, you don’t have to precook it as the grains will soften and swell while cooking in the soup. Adding rice to any meatball was something I learned early on as a home cook. This method is very common in many Greek dishes. In the older days, adding rice was a way to bulk up the beef, yielding more meatballs for less money. This method especially work well anytime you’re incorporating meatballs in a soup as they’ll always be more tender and flavorful. We’ll start with the meatball mixture, getting everything nicely mixed and formed into small one inch meatballs by rolling them in your clean hands.

We get the broth started by sautéing all the vegetables and remaining ingredients in warm olive oil until they have softened. This is a nice way to really marry all the flavors together before adding the broth. The aroma that will fill your kitchen from this medley of vegetables and herbs is just heavenly.

 If you decide to use rice noodles, add them during the last 3 to 4 minutes of the cooking time. Rice noodles are just that; noodles made from rice. They are gluten-free and are more delicate in texture than pasta. I enjoy using the Thai Kitchen brand found in most grocery stores and on line.

Servings: About 10 soup bowls.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 medium jalapeño, seeded and minced -divided
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced – divided
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped – divided
• the zest of one medium lime
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1 egg, slightly beaten in a separate bowl
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 medium celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 (48 ounce) cartons of chicken broth
• 1 dry bay leaf
• 4 ounces rice noodles (optional)

To prepare the turkey meatballs:

Place the ground turkey in a medium bowl. Add  1/2 of the minced jalapeños, minced garlic, 1/2 of the cilantro, the zest of the lime, rice, 1 egg, 1/2 cup dry plain bread crumbs, the salt and pepper. Using your clean hands, mix throughly and form into 1-inch balls; place them on a cookie sheet and set aside. If the turkey is sticking to your hands while you’re rolling them, add a bit of olive oil to your palms, that should help.

For the soup:

In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, warm the 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the carrots, celery, and onions then sprinkle with salt.  Stir occasionally until the vegetables have softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining jalapeños, sliced ginger, garlic, and cilantro and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, and the bay leaf bringing everything to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. After the ten minutes, carefully drop the turkey balls straight into the soup and simmer for about 25 minutes. If using the rice noodles, add them the final 3 to 4 minutes of the cooking time.                      To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, dividing the meatballs evenly. Garnish each serving with more cilantro.

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Turkey-Meatball Soup with Ginger and Lime

Prep 20 mins

Cook 35 mins

Total 55 mins

Author Catherine Varitek

Yield 10 Cups

Fresh ginger and lime zest are the stars of this dish giving the soup its peppery, yet sweet and citrusy flavor. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 medium jalapeño, seeded and diced -divided
• 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced - divided
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped - divided
• The zest of a medium lime
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 medium celery stalks, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 (48 ounce) cartons chicken broth
• 1 dry bay leaf
• 4 ounces rice noodles (optional)

Instructions

To prepare the turkey meatballs:

Place the ground turkey in a medium bowl. Add  1/2 of the diced jalapeños, minced ginger, 1/2 of the minced garlic, 1/2 of the cilantro, the zest of the lime, 1/2 cup uncooked rice, 1 egg, 1/2 cup dry plain bread crumbs, the salt and pepper. Mix throughly and form into 1-inch balls and transfer to a plate. Set aside until the broth is ready.

For the soup:

1. In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, warm the 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Add the carrots, celery, and onions sprinkle with salt stirring occasionally until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the remaining jalapeños, sliced ginger, garlic, and cilantro then cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add the chicken broth, and bay leaf.
5. Bring to gentle boil, reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
6. Gently drop the meatballs and continue to simmer over medium heat for about 25 minutes.
7. Add the rice noodles the last 4 to 5 minutes of cooking time.

When ready, ladle the soup into bowls dividing the meatballs evenly. Garnish each serving with cilantro.

Courses Lunch / Dinner

Cuisine Mediterranean