Greek Style Minestrone with Turkey and Feta Meatballs
Sunday, November 16, 2008 by Pam
I got this soup recipe from my friend Heather a long time ago. My husband, children and I have been fighting a nasty cold so I thought this soup would be great because it's filled with a lot of veggies. It's a vegetarian soup but the recipe notes that it's great with Italian sausage too. I went to two different grocery stores looking for linked turkey Italian sausage and they were out. I decided to make turkey meatballs with feta so I grabbed some ground turkey. The recipe called for eggplant, but I forgot to get one at the store, so I used a yellow squash instead. The soup was delicious with a hint of dill, full of garlic and veggies. The meatballs were amazing! I really loved how moist and flavorful they were. I cooked my meatballs in the skillet before I threw them in the soup. I realized after doing this that most meatballs (for soup) are cooked in the broth, I will try it that way next time. Either way, the meatballs were great and added a wonderful flavor and texture. We all, kids included, loved this soup. I served it with a Greek salad and fresh hot bread. I had leftovers for lunch the next day and it's flavor was even better.
Turkey Meatballs:
- 1 lb of ground turkey meat with Italian seasonings
- 2 tbsp sweet yellow onion, diced finely
- 2 tbsp feta cheese (I used reduced fat)
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup of garlic and herb bread crumbs
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tsp olive oil (for cooking meatballs)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and gently combine with fingers until thoroughly mixed. Roll into very small meatballs.
Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat, once the pan is hot add the meatballs and cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.
Soup:
- 1/2 cup sweet yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
- 2 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 6 cups of chicken stock
- 1/3 cup of long grain brown (or white) rice
- 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- 1-2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tsp of oregano
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
- 1 zucchini, chopped into bite size pieces
- 1 yellow squash, chopped into bite size pieces
- 1 can small white beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups sliced fresh spinach (about 3 ounces)
- Turkey meatballs
- 1/2 cup of feta cheese for topping
Increase the heat to medium and add beans, meatballs, zucchini and squash. Taste and re-season if needed. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring once. Stir in spinach and simmer, uncovered, until spinach is wilted and all vegetables are tender, about 2 minutes longer. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with feta cheese. Enjoy.
Note: If not serving immediately, add the spinach just before serving to retain the bright color and prevent overcooking.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Award and a meme:
I've been tagged to do a meme from Annie at Yes, I want to see the dessert menu. Thanks for passing it on to me Annie.
I am to write 6 random things about myself:
1. I used to do a cooking show while doing dishes when I was a kid. I only did it when no one else was home.
2. I have a lot of freckles.
3. I met my husband at one of my best friend's wedding. He was a groomsman and I was a bridesmaid.
4. I have two very small tattoos. I got my first one when I was 21 - it's a Chinese symbol that means "to dream". I got the second one when I was 36, with 6 of my girlfriends. We all got the Chinese symbol that means "friendship".
5. I have two cats that don't get along. Sophie, our younger cat, would love to be our older cat's friend, but Casey just yowls, hisses and growls at her. Poor little Sophie.
6. I have two really great kids. They are funny, sweet, kind, silly and smart. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world.
Here are the rules:
- Link to the person who tagged you
- Post the rules on the blog
- Write 6 random things about yourself
- Tag 6 people at the end of your post
- Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
- Let the tagger know when your entry is up
So let's play tag!
I am tagging:
- Lisa at Jersey Girl Cooks
- Paula at It's all Gouda
- Michele at Life, Lightly Salted
- Stacey at Stacey Snacks
- Heather from Diary of a Fanatic Foodie
- Cheryl at Cooking, Dunkin Style
I also got The Superior Scribbler award awhile ago from Soulchocolate at My Gourmet Kitchen. Thank you so much for passing the award on to me. Be sure to check out her website for beautiful photos that will leave you drooling.
I will pass this award on to the most talented writer I know... Miss Blonde Duck from A Duck in Her Pond. I know you already have this award but you are such a talented girl, I wanted to give you another one. ;-)
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yummy, this soup looks delicious! hope you and your family are feeling better soon!
ah, you had me at feta meatballs. i think this looks DELICIOUS!
you're sick again too? I was sick not too long ago. I had a nasty cold for awhile! I hope you get well soon! :)
I love your greek style touch a classic minestrone soup :) so yummy!
I love vegetable based soups and this looks delicious! This is the true power of eating with one's eyes, which I am doing right now! Yum..yum..yum...lol
Your soup looks gorgeous, I am turning into a soup geek and you are giving me lots of wonderful ideas.
Pam,
Those meatballs look PERFECT!!!!!
Here is one thing about myself:
1. I don't like memes!!!!
I didn't even know what they were until 2 wks ago when Ilva from Lucullian Delights memed me!!!
Now, you're making me work on a Monday morning!!!!!
Stacey
There are so many colour groups in this recipe. Just like a rainbow to me! So appealing and healthy!
Great photos! I love the colors going on here!
What a nice looking soup. Just perfect since the weather has started to get really cool around here!!!
wow... groomsman marrying the bridesmaid sounds so romantic... :)
This soup looks terrific -- very colorful and full of flavor. I laughed at myself when I first read the recipe because I erroneously first thought it called for 1/4 cup of chopped garlic in the meatballs. I pictured you mincing clove after clover. Now I realize that it was 1/4 cup breadcrumbs! :-)
I like these kinds of meme's. It's so fun to learn about fellow bloggers. So, you are a little tattooed thing! How romantic that you and your hubby met at a wedding. Does the married couple take credit for your marriage! Thanks for the tag; I'll have to dig deep to find something interesting to share! Have a great day!
Feta in meatballs?! Brilliant idea! This looks like a great soup.
I agree those Feta Meatballs sounds incredible! YUM, you do have two amazing kiddos!
Anything with feta tastes wonderful doesn't it? I would love to make a huge batch of this to freeze for the upcoming winter months. Looks so good!
Great soup, those feta meatballs look wonderful in it! Sounds delicious!
Aww, Pam, that's so nice of you. I love your soup. I love the meatballs. I love how you met your husband as a bridesmaid when he was a groomsmen. I love that you think I'm a good writer.
To be frank, Pam, I just love you! You're such a wonderful person and I'm glad you're my Invisible Friend!
I was confused about "feta meatballs". Then I read it again and figured it out. Looks like a great soup to me.
Definitely sounds like comfort food for a cold day ..
I love feta cheese. I am going to try this too.
It looks absolutely delicious! I love all the veggies in there, so wonderful and healthy. Hope eveyone is feeling better.
That soup looks amazing, Pam, and I love the sound of those turkey/ feta meatballs.
I hope you and your family feel better real soon.
I love all your substitutions. Oh, and feta makes me happy! Sadly, I'm catching a cold myself so perhaps this will make me feel better. Hope you're feeling better!
those greeks really know how it's done, and so do you. :)
meanwhile, i love the fact that you met your husband like that. it's like a movie...literally. :)
A soup as hearty and healthy as this one would make anyone feel better :), it looks colorful and delicious!
I love the addition of feta, both in the meatballs and on the top. Everything is better with feta.
Those meatballs sound amazing!
The soup along with that salad above look just gorgeous, Pam. Sorry you guys have been fighting sickness though!
That's so adorable that you used to do a little cooking show. Awesome.
I also had the same problem with my two cats. We moved last year and parted ways with the older one. :( I'm sure she's happier living as a solo pet though and our younger one's personality came to life afterwards.
Oh my, I can taste the amazing flavor of the soup by the great ingredient list! Looks great!
looked good .. and the recipe seemed easy & would be tasty .. the blog looks fun for cooking. thumb up!!
Loved that you took minestrone on a trip from Italy to Greece. Looks delicious.
I met my husband at a wedding too--where I was a bridesmaid and he was an usher. Never met anyone else who that happened to!
I just recently wrote a thank you email to my friend who was supposed to be set up with my husband-she never showed up at the wedding and now he is all mine 21 years later!
This is such a beautiful soup! I'm snooping around for a Friday Bloggy Friend's recipe. This would be wonderful if it wasn't so hot out! I must bookmark this one for when it cools down a bit.
I just noticed your cat's name is Sophie. I have a cat and a dog named Sophie! Long story! ;0)
This recipe is so AMAZING! I love it! It is now our new favorite soup recipe! Thanks for sharing. :)