Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup with Tiny Meatballs


The other day I was thinking why don't I ever use the broccoli stems for anything. I'm paying for them and then I throw them away. It doesn't make sense. Lately, I have been eating the tops with dip for my lunches so I had extra stems. I also had some potatoes to use up so I went looking for a broccoli/ potato soup recipe. I couldn't find much and didn't really like the ones I saw. So I created this one that also has tiny turky meatballs in it. My family really likes this soup. The only complaint was that in my original recipe, there wasn't enough meatballs. So I added more in this recipe. My daughter just ate the meatballs and was done. My son wouldn't try it because he doesn't like potatoes unless they are french fries! Toddlers are so particular. My husband and I really liked it! Anyway, I hope you like this one.

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup with Tiny Meatballs
2 tsp. canola oil
½ cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1 ½ lbs. potatoes, diced
¾ lbs. broccoli stems, diced
1 can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 – 20 oz. package of lean ground turkey
¾ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup heavy cream

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute while stirring. Pour in broth and water. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes, broccoli and beans. Return to a boil and cook for 10 minutes or until vegetables are fork tender.

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine turkey, ¾ tsp salt, cayenne, and basil. Work the spices through the turkey. Form the turkey into  1 teaspoon size meatballs and set aside.

When the potatoes and broccoli are fork tender, remove from heat. Blend with an immersion blender until at least ¾ of the soup is pureed. This will easily splatter so blend carefully. This can also be done by putting ¾ of the soup into a blender to puree and then return to dutch oven.

Return the soup to medium heat and add meatballs one at a time so they don’t stick together. Cook until they are no longer pink inside, about 6-7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ¼ tsp. salt, pepper, cheese, and cream. Stir until cheese is melted. Serves 8.

No comments:

Post a Comment