Pondering what to do with some ground turkey, I developed a taste for a meatball soup…Italian wedding soup would be good, but I didn’t have any fresh greens or the little pasta balls. Looking at the vegetables in my refrigerator, I realized I had a head of cauliflower to be used. That would do nicely in a soup, the king of simple meals, in my opinion. I had some chicken/lamb stock that I had frozen. What else would give these anchor ingredients some more flavor? Cheese is always a welcome companion to cauliflower, so it was time to pull out a parmesan rind from the freezer. Now we had a direction in which to go.
After sautéing a diced onion in a stockpot with olive oil, I added my concentrated stock along with some water and my parmesan rind to boil while I prepared the other ingredients. I wanted to give the parmesan a head start on flavoring my broth before adding the other vegetables because I don’t want them to get mushy by overcooking, just soft enough.
For the Meatballs I Used:
- 1 lb ground turkey
- one egg
- panko bread crumbs
- minced dried onion
- garlic powder
- dried sage powder
- a pinch of paprika/turmeric/cumin blend
- salt
To the Soup I Added:
- Cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces
- chopped carrots
- chopped celery
- chopped beet stems
- dried basil
- dried oregano
- dash of Worcestershire sauce
- tomato paste
- a little frozen spinach added at the end for color
Do you think soup qualifies as a simple meal? Served with “a hunk of bread”, my husband thinks so. We sprinkled the top of this with more parmesan and it was comfort in a bowl. Two days later, the leftovers were even better for lunch. Yes, soup that has a chance to allow its flavors to marry is wonderful!
Ready for more soup inspiration? How Are You Using All Those Extra Potatoes?
Yes, this qualifies for a meal! and I been making this soup all my life and never thought of Cauliflower. yum!!! food artist you are, thanksYOU for ideas