Greek Lemon Soup with Chicken Meatballs

I was hesitant to make this dish.  Lemon soup with chicken meatballs?  But I was intrigued by the Greek influenced recipe using dill and mint as flavorings for the chicken.  I also wanted to try a soup that was made creamy and thick with egg yolks and no heavy creams or flour.

And yes, it is still cold and more like June-uary than a summer June, so warm soup is still safe in the Northwest.  I'm also wearing a long sleeve shirt and jeans - my summer clothes just gathering dust.  So bring on the hot soup for dinner!

The meatball recipe calls for ground chicken.  These days, this is a standard grocery item and should be readily available for purchase.  I picked up a package of Isernio's ground chicken since it's made locally and was proud to use parsley from our own garden.

I used a cheese grater to shred the onion which made for a quick task.  Added the chicken, herbs, spices and egg.

The meatballs will be wet and not as firm as you may expect.

Once the broth is boiling, you add the carrots, orzo, and chicken meatballs.  I gently lowered the meatballs in to the soup to ensure they wouldn't fall apart.

The recipe calls for you to temper the egg yolks.  This is a very easy process and ensures that you don't cook the egg too fast and create chucks of scrambled yolks in your soup.  As you whisk the egg yolks in a separate bowl, slowly pour one cup of the hot soup in to the yolks.  Have patience and take your time so the eggs have a chance to warm up slow.  Once this is done you can pour the egg mixture in to the pot of soup and whisk a bit more.

The soup made our house smell amazing and everyone was anxious to give it a taste.  We were all surprised and happy with the result.  A very refreshing soup, that didn't weigh us down with cream but was very filling.  The flavor was great and we will definitely have this again.  And the kids?  They loved it.

I regret grinding fresh pepper on the soup before taking a picture.  It was a beautiful color! 

Greek Lemon Soup with Chicken Meatballs, courtesy of 30-Minute Suppers by America's Test Kitchen

8 c. low sodium chicken broth

1 lb ground chicken

1 small onion, grated (1 c.)

1/2 c. panko (I used regular bread crumbs)

3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

3 large egg yolks and 1 whole egg

salt and pepper

1 c. orzo

3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick

3 Tbsp lemon juice

Bring broth to boil in a large pot. Cover aand set aside. Combine chicken, onion, bread crumbs, mint, dill, parsley, whole egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper together in bowl.  Mix together and shape in to 1" meatballs.

Add meatballs, orzo, and carrots to broth and bring to simmer.  Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until meatballs are cooked through and orzo is tender, about 15 minutes.

Gently whisk lemon juice and yolks together in a bowl.  Whisking constantly, gradually ladle 1 cup hot soup into egg mixture, then stir egg mixture back into soup, again whisking constantly.  Gently simmer soup on low heat until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Italian Meatballs

I love Oprah.  In fact, I think most people do.  Her talk show has been around forEVER and I know I have watched quite a few episodes between college, maternity leaves, and when a must see guest or topic is covered.  I watched her Royal Wedding episode and she mentioned a few recipes featured on her website.  When I checked out the food section of her site I stumbled across some great finds!  This kid-friendly meatball recipe is one of them.

Mixing the meats and ingredients together.  I hate having to mix meat with bare hands so attempted a spatula.  Didn't work.  Using your hands ensures the ingredients are mixed together thoroughly, plus your hands are going to get dirty while shaping the meatballs anyways...

Fairly easy to make, but a tad messy due to frying them in a pan with oil.  You can bake them in the oven which my mom prefers as its a tad less of a mess.  I also made my meatballs slightly smaller than recipe calls for.

Instead of simmering on the stove, I used our crock pot and cooked for about an hour on high and another 2-3 hours on low.  The kids thought the meatballs were really good and Blake ended up having three helpings!  A great recipe and the finished product is equal to very high quality Italian restaurant flavor.

I used lean ground beef and Isernio's ground pork in this recipe (they don't just sell sausages). 

Click HERE for the recipe...

Italian Wedding Soup

Today I made one of my favorite soups, Italian Wedding. It is such a delicious and hearty soup with a broth that doesn't weigh you down. I use the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics cookbook, and I highly recommend you try it!  (what, are you surprised that I used an Ina Garten recipe?)

As a tip, QFC and other stores are selling Isernio's chicken sausage filling without sausage casing, and it is cheaper than buying the sausages intact. This saves you time when you're making the meatballs (it requires chicken sausage that you take out of casings). Serve with warm, hearty bread and you're good to go!

Click HERE for a copy of the recipe, courtesy of Food Network.