Ahhhh…the temperatures in Atlanta this week have delightfully dipped into the low 50’s at night. What perfect weather for a warm bowl of hearty Southern soup. Luscious chicken broth-based soup filled with tender black eyed peas and your choice of healthy greens; I used kale greens, but mustard greens, escarole or spinach would also work very well. And that’s not all! Flavorful turkey meatballs happily float in this soul-warming soup. Each and every bite of this soup is sure to make you smile.
Turkey meatballs
(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)
Black Eyed Pea & Greens Soup with Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients:
- For the meatballs:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- For the soup:
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 scallions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
- 2 cups freshly shelled black eyed peas (or 1-15oz. can, drained and rinsed or 2 cups frozen peas, thawed)
- 1Tablespoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large tomatoes, diced
- 6 cups chicken broth (homemade or store bought, low sodium)
- 4 cups kale greens (mustard greens, spinach or escarole would also work fine)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl add all of the meatball ingredients and with your hands, mix together until all of the ingredients are fully combined. Form the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cook the meatballs in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned.
- In a large stockpot heat the olive oil and the red pepper flakes over medium-high heat. Add in the chopped onion and scallions and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add in the fresh peas and season with the salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally for an additional 5 minutes. Add in the diced tomatoes, the broth and the fresh greens. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes uncovered. With 5 minutes left in the cooking time, place the cooked meatballs back into the soup. Serve warm.
- (Note: if you use canned black eyed peas, reduce the initial cooking time of cooking the beans with the onions to just 2 minutes)
Tagged: black eyed peas, greens, kale greens, meatballs, mustard greens, soup, tomatoes, turkey meatballs, yellow onion
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