Lemony Chicken-Feta Meatball Soup With Spinach
Updated Oct. 24, 2024
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound ground chicken or turkey, preferably dark meat
- ½cup crumbled feta
- ¾cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1small red onion, halved (½ diced, and ½ grated, then squeezed with a paper towel to remove excess liquid)
- ⅓packed cup fresh dill leaves and fine stems, finely chopped
- 1tablespoon ground cumin
- ½teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus more for serving
- 4cups low-sodium chicken broth or water
- 4packed cups baby spinach (about 5 ounces)
- 2lemons (1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges for serving)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
426 calories; 23 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 1160 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
In a medium bowl, add the chicken, feta, ¼ cup oats, the grated onion, most of the dill (reserve about 2 tablespoons for garnish), the cumin, ½ teaspoon turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt. Gently combine without squeezing too hard or overworking the meat. Lightly wet your palms and shape the meat into small balls, a little smaller than the size of a golf ball, about 1½ inches. (You will have approximately 25 balls.)
- Step 2
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or wide pot over medium until shimmering. Add the diced onion, season with salt, and cook until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon turmeric and the red-pepper flakes, and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Push the onions to the sides as best you can, then add the meatballs. (They will be close together, and that’s OK.) Cook until browned on two sides, 5 to 7 minutes total.
- Step 3
Pour in the broth and remaining ½ cup oats, then gently tilt the pot to the right and left to distribute the oats and broth without disturbing the meatballs. Bring to a gentle boil, then immediately reduce the heat to maintain an active simmer. Season with salt. Cook, gently stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom, until the oats have softened and the meatballs are cooked through, about 4 minutes more.
- Step 4
Stir in the spinach and lemon juice until the spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes more. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Spoon into bowls, top with pepper and the remaining dill. Serve with lemon wedges.
Private Notes
Comments
Long time lurkers, first time commenters - be gentle. We love this recipe so much, and wanted to share modifications for other gluttons out there. Use the 1/4 c oats in the meatballs Don't use the oats in the soup, instead substitute with 1 c orzo Increase stock to 6 cups Add thinly sliced celery for extra crunch (cook with the onions!) We tend to up the red pepper and don't add salt at step 3 Enjoy, as the perfect acidity is balanced by the silken coated orzo sliding down your gullet.
I would substitute a different herb, as my wife and I are not dill fans. However, the rest sounds great. And I want to mention how much I love and appreciate the NYTimes cooking community. I love reading your comments and I appreciate all of you out there cooking.
This was really tasty and easy to make. I didn’t do the part where you move the onion over for meatballs, though. Instead I did meatballs for 15 mins in 400 oven on parchment paper then popped them in the broth to finish. Easier I think and worked great (meatballs brown/cook evenly in the oven without breaking up)
Last time I made this exactly as written and we loved it. No changes. Tonight I made it with lean ground lamb instead of a ground poultry. It really was excellent. Lamb added a richness. I also took the salt down a bit as I used block feta I crumbled. It tasted saltier to me than the pre crumbled. Great recipe!
Two tips- 1)Make sure to use LOW SODIUM chicken broth! This soup is outstanding, except I made a mistake- I love salt so am never deterred when other people say that a recipe is too salty, and rarely come across something that I think has too much salt. That being said, I followed the recipe exactly (or so I thought) and didn’t add any additional salt or seasoning at the end because when I went and tried the broth it was EXTREMELY salty. Took me awhile to figure out it’s because I used regular and not low sodium chicken broth. Added some water and it’s ok, but I can understand how this would be too salty for some, even with low sodium. 2) Make sure you properly brown the meatballs - if you don’t cook them long enough and at high enough heat before adding the broth. Otherwise they’ll be mushy (I know because I made 2 batches at the same time and one of my burners isn’t as strong as the other one.)
This has become one of our favourite soups. I find it way easier to brown the meatballs in the soup pot first, remove them, then start in with the onions. You get to keep the browned bits, but don't have to deal with a crowded pot, and broken meatballs. I always use oatmeal in the meatballs. But, for the broth I sometimes use oatmeal as written, and sometimes I swap it out for rice. Both are great.
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