Italian Wedding Soupwith turkey meatballs / orzo
Leftover turkey meatballs from earlier in the week get a totally different flavor profile in this Italian-inspired soup that is a version of a soup we featured in 2014.
Smarts: Orzo is a small, rice-shaped pasta that cooks fast. Feel free to use any pasta shape here, but adjust the time to be sure the pasta is cooked through.
Ingredients
- Green onions - 2 stalks, chopped, green and white parts separate
- Turkey, ground - 1 lb (look for ground dark meat turkey if available; sub ground beef or pork)
- Eggs - 1
- Panko breadcrumbs - 1/4 cup
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
- Onions, medium - 1, diced
- Carrots - 8 oz, chopped
- Chard, any type - 4 leaves, leaves and stems chopped and separate
- Turkey meatballs (ingredients listed separately) - ~12, halved
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Tomato paste - 1 Tbsp
- Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Stock, any type - 5 cups
- Cheese, parmesan rind, (opt) - 1
- Pasta, orzo - 1/2 cup
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
- Cheese, parmesan (opt) - 2 oz, grated
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Onions / Carrots / Chard - Prep as directed. Combine onions, carrots, and chard stems in one container. Store chard leaves separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Green onions - Chop green onions, keeping green and white parts separate. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Make meatballs - (Skip if made ahead for Tuesday.) Mix white parts of green onions (reserve green parts), ground turkey, eggs, panko, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Form into 1” / 2.5 cm meatballs. Brush a sheet pan with some oil and spread meatballs out on the sheet pan. Bake at 375F / 190C degrees until meatballs are cooked through, 16 to 20 minutes. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Halve meatballs - Slice meatballs in half (or quarters if meatballs are large).
Make
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add cooking oil and then onions, carrots, and chard stems to heated oil with a pinch of salt. Saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and oregano until fragrant, ~1 minute more.
- Add stock and parmesan rind (if using) and bring to a simmer. Stir in orzo and simmer until orzo is nearly tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add meatballs and chard leaves. Continue to simmer soup until orzo is tender and meatballs are warmed through.
- Move soup off heat and stir in lemon juice. Taste and season with some salt and pepper.
- Serve soup with grated parmesan and green parts of green onions sprinkled over top if you’d like. Enjoy!
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Reviews
This meal has 22 reviews
Used spinach instead of chard but otherwise followed the recipe. We loved this!
Delicious! I think maybe there were a few too many meatballs, but overall I loved it.
Straightforward, quick & easy weeknight meal. I read the reviews before I cooked & decided to double the seasoning. Unfortunately, it still needed even MORE seasoning. Other than that, it was just ok.
The vegetarian version was bland and boring.
I don't always love turkey, but this was good overall - it's hard to go wrong with a cheese rind in the broth! This was also super quick to put together with the meatballs made ahead.
A very yummy soup. I think it could have used more veggies but it was very good.