Now that the days are becoming shorter I have started to think about Winter dinners. We love to eat colder foods in summer and warmer dishes in winter. I feel this helps the body to keep it’s equilibrium. To be honest, I think we can stay more balance when our diet changes to suit the seasons. Soup is a great way to get plenty of vitamins and minerals into our diet. Plus I added the meatballs for extra protein. The meal is a yummy way to start Winter. We really enjoyed this dish and we hope you will too. Below is a video and recipe for you.
What Winter dinners do you enjoy and why? Let me know in the comments below and please don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Plate
- Baking tray
- Small bowl
- Bowl
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Slow cooker
- Tablespoon
- Teaspoon
- Stirring spoon
- Fork x 2
- Blender
Ingredients for the turkey meatballs
- Turkey mince x 500g
- Ground flax seed or breadcrumbs x 2 – 4 tbsp
- Courgette x 1
- Tamari x 1 – 2 tbsp
- Dried oregano x 1 tsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method for the meatballs
- Peel and grate the courgette.
- Place the turkey mince into a large mixing bowl.
- Add in the ground flax seed, tamari, grated courgette and salt and pepper to taste.
- Dampen your hands under the tap so that the meat mixture doesn’t stick.
- With your dampened hands scrunch all of the ingredients together until everything is well mixed in.
- At this point you might need to dampen your hands again.
- Split the mixture into four parts and grab a piece of the mixture.
- Roll it between your hands until it forms a barrel shape or ball.
- Continue until all of the mixture is has been used to make meatballs.
- You might need to dampen your hands a couple of times during this process.
- Place the meatballs onto a plate and put it into the fridge.
- These can be made the day before or a couple of hours before.
- Once the meatballs have been in the fridge preheat the oven to 200°C or gas mark 5.
- Put the baking tray in at the same time.
- Remove the baking tray and put the cold meatballs in.
- Place the tray in the oven.
- Cook for 25 – 30 minutes or until a golden brown colour and the juice have run clear.
Ingredients for the soup
- Tinned tomatoes x 1 400ml tin
- Carrot x 1
- Celery x 1 stick
- Vegetable stock, chicken stock or bone broth x 600ml
- Dried cannellini beans x 300g or 2 400g tins
- Tamari x 2 tbsp
- Mild or hot chili powder x 1 tsp
- Smoked paprika x 1 tsp
- Cayenne pepper x 1 – 2 pinches or more if you like it spicy
- Garlic granules x 1 tsp
- Onion granules x 1 tsp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Measure the amount of beans you will need for your recipe.
- Put them into the large bowl, if you haven’t already then cover in enough water and then a couple of inches above.
- Soak the beans in the fridge overnight.
- You may want to use a bowl with a lid.
- The next day remove the beans from the fridge and pour any excess water through the colander.
- Rinse under the tap.
- Put the beans into the large saucepan.
- Again pour enough water to cover the beans plus a two inches above.
- Add in the baking powder and salt to your taste.
- Turn the hob onto high and bring to the boil.
- When the pan starts to boil turn the heat down to low.
- Leave to simmer until most of the water has disappeared.
- Then drain through the colander and rinse under the tap.
- Put the beans into the slow cooker pot.
- Peel the carrot and slice and dice into small pieces.
- Slice the celery into 1/2 centimetre pieces.
- Then add these ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Add in the tinned tomatoes and stock or bone broth and stir these ingredients together.
- Next add in the tahini, mild or hot chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic granules and onion granules to the pot.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir all the ingredients around in the pot until everything is well mixed together.
- Turn the slow cooker on low for 5 – 6 hours or on high for 2 – 3 hours.
- An hour before the end of cooking time, turn the slow cooker off and leave the soup to cool.
- Once it has cooled add it into the food processor.
- The process may need to be done in two batches as the food processor may not be big enough for all the soup.
- Use the measuring jug if necessary.
- Put the soup back into the slow cooker and keep on ‘keep warm’ until ready to serve.
- Finally, serve with the turkey meatballs and enjoy.
Southern Spice Soup with Turkey Meatballs was a tasty meal. It was easy to prepare and cook. The meatballs and the soup could be made in advance of a meal and stored in the freezer for another occasion. The dish was a great dinner but it can also be a yummy lunch. Plus it makes delicious leftovers too. However you decide to eat this meal, as always, please enjoy. Thank you. xxx
Googies Kitchen Life 