Alberta Lentil, Barley & Meatball Soup
A hearty soup that's a meal in a bowl!
Servings 10 servings
Calories 243
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) dry soup mix (see notes)
- 3 cups (750 mL) water
- 2 tsp (10 mL) canola oil
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) finely chopped celery
- 2 cups (500 mL) chopped carrots
- 1 cup (250 mL) chopped rutabaga
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) sage
- 6 cups (1.5 L) sodium-reduced chicken broth
- 1/3 cup (75 mL) tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) honey
- 1 tsp (5 mL) vinegar
- 1/4 tsp (1 mL) red pepper flakes
Mini Meatballs (see notes)
- 1 lb (500 g) ground turkey or beef
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) slow cooking oats or barley flakes
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp (2 mL) sage
Garnish
- plain Greek yogurt
- fresh or dried dill
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, place soup mix and water. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, turn off heat, cover and let stand for 30-60 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat canola oil and sauté onion for a few minutes, then add garlic, celery, carrots and rutabaga. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Add vegetables to soup mix in the soup pot. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
- Mix together mini-meatball ingredients. Spray a non-stick pan with oil. Scoop 1/2 tsp (2 mL) meatball mixture and form into mini-meatballs. Fry until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. This makes about 95 mini-meatballs.
- To the soup-vegetable mix, add cooked turkey meatballs, chicken stock, tomato paste, honey, vinegar, red pepper flakes, pepper and sage. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings and thickness if necessary and simmer for several more minutes.
- Garnish each bowl with plain Greek yogurt and fresh dill, if desired.
Notes
- Look for dry soup mix with lentils, split pea, rice and/or pot barley.
- The dry soup mix can be found in the bulk foods section or soup section of the grocery store.
- You can make your own soup mix by combining 1/2 cup (125 mL) of dry red split lentils, 1/2 cup (125 mL) green or yellow split peas, 1/4 cup (60 mL) long grain rice and 1/4 cup (60 mL) pearl or pot barley. If you don't want to use rice and barley, you could use 1/2 cup (125 mL) rice or 1/2 cup (125 mL) barley along with the lentils and split peas.
- Don't feel like making mini meatballs? You can use 1 lb (500 g) frozen, precooked meatballs instead! Add the frozen meatballs directly to the soup-vegetable mix where you would be adding the cooked turkey meatballs and continue with the recipe.
Nutrition
Serving Size: 1cup (250 mL) | Calories: 243 | Total Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Carbohydrate: 31g | Fibre: 5g | Sugars: 6g | Protein: 20g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 424mg | Potassium: 764mg | Iron: 3mg