Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup with Mini Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

• Ground turkey

  Poultry food products, raw

  1 lb or 454g

• Breadcrumbs

  Cooks' Ingredients, Dried, White - Waitrose

  33g

• Italian Seasoning

  Shoppers Value

  1 tsp or 4g

• Garlic powder

  Spices

  ½ tsp or 2g

• Crushed red pepper flakes

  1 tsp or 0.3g

• Sauce, pesto, Classico, basil pesto, ready-to-serve

  ⅛ cup or 31g

• Salt

  Table

  1 dash or 0.4g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  ½ tbsp or 7g

• Garlic

  Raw

  3 cloves, minced or 9g

• Onions

  Sweet, raw

  1 onion or 331g

• Carrots

  Raw

  1 large or 72g

• Tomatoes

  Crushed, canned

  1 ⅞ can (15 oz) or 793g

• Coconut milk

  Nuts, raw (liquid expressed from grated meat and water)

  100g

• Chicken broth

  Soup, canned, less/reduced sodium

  4 cup or 960g

• Italian Seasoning

  Shoppers Value

  1 tsp or 4g

• Orzo

  Meijer

  1 cup dry or 170g

• Salt

  Table

  ½ tsp or 3g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

• Spinach

  Raw

  200g

• Parmesan cheese

  Shredded

  4 tbsp or 20g

Directions

1. In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, pesto, salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined and roll into approximately 40-45 1/2 inch mini sized meatballs.
2. Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add meatballs in batches and brown on all sides. This will take about 5-6 minutes per batch. You don't need to cook them all the way through, as they will finish cooking in the soup. Once meatballs have browned nicely, transfer them to a large plate and set aside.
3. In a large pot, add in 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and place over medium heat. Add in garlic, onion and carrot and saute until onion and carrots slightly soften, about 3-5 minutes. Next add in crushed tomatoes, coconut milk, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, orzo, salt and pepper and stir well. Add in browned meatballs back into the soup. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally stir in spinach and cook for another minute or until spinach wilts. Taste soup and adjust seasonings as necessary, adding more salt and pepper if you'd like.
4. Serve soup immediately with extra basil pesto swirled in, parmesan, crackers and/or garlic bread. Serves 6.
5. Recipe by: Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com (source: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/tomato-orzo-soup/)