Thursday, April 12, 2012

Turkey and Quinoa Meatball Posole


Soup Battle Royale was playing out in my head this morning.  One camp was screaming, "I want Posole", the other "I want Meatball soup".  Whoa, keep it down in there I had to keep reminding myself.  The battle went on for what seemed like hours, finally I decided to step away and have an oatmeal, apple, ginger cookie while I cleared my head.

I really wanted both kinds of soup, but decided to use a process of elimination to find the winner.

Posole
(pros); spicy, hominy, crunchy, pork (need I say more)
(cons);  3 hours to make, lots of pork and wanting to cut back on meat

Before I even finished with the cons (that and I was mentally tired), I cried out - I just want some spicy, tasty soup with meatballs and I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen.  

Soup Base
8 dried New Mexico chili pods
4 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1 - 29 ounce can white hominy, rinsed and drained

Turkey and Quinoa Meatballs
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large egg
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Garnishes
Radishes, thinly sliced
Tostada chips
Lime wedges

Bring four cups of water to a boil and pour the boiling water over the chili pods and let soak 15-20 minutes.

Turn a heavy stockpot on to medium heat and add the olive oil, onions and celery and let cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables are starting to get a little color.  Add the garlic and cook a few minutes longer.  

Add the softened chili pods to a blender with 2 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid and pulse until finely chopped.  Pass the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the skins and seeds.  

Add the chili mixture to the stockpot and add the crushed tomatoes, 2 cups of water, cumin and salt and let cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Combine the ground turkey, quinoa, garlic, egg, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well combined.  I shaped the mixture into quarter sized meatballs and added them to the soup.  Let cook 5 more minutes.  

Add the drained and rinsed hominy and cook 10 more minutes.

Serve with sliced radishes, tostada chips and a squeeze of lime.


Hopefully I saved you from having this same battle play out in your head.  The meatballs are soft and tasty, the broth is spicy but not too hot and if you are like me you will need all the radishes in the above photo for your bowl alone.


Enjoy,

Gina



20 comments:

  1. Yes, I want this meatball soup too, and I didn't even know it until now,lol!
    Hope you're staying dry during all this rain we've been having;-)

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  2. Doesn't this look good. Anything that good looking is worth the effort. :)

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  3. I hope you have prepared more, as I want some too! It looks so tasty and soul-satisfying!

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  4. looks and sounds awesome! I love soup but my hubby never thinks it's filling enough for dinner. I bet this would satisfy him. :)

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  5. Whenever I need to choose between two dinner options I imagine having the first bite of each and then go for the one that makes me happier in my mind, if that makes sense. LOL

    However I hardly have three hours on my hand for cooking these days so then I'd just go for the quicker option - glad you did as well because YUM!

    Especially like the turkey quinoa meatballs.

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  6. Yes! Way to combine all the flavors into a delicious bowl of soup!!! Love it!
    I'm sure the credit is due completely to the oatmeal apple ginger cookie...nothing works more that stepping away to clear your pretty little head! ;)

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  7. I want this!!! I love that you came up with something to satisfy everyone.... Now if I could only convince my husband that soup can be a meal! Thanks for sharing, Gina!

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  8. MMmmmmmm....I love soup and this is one is unique and wonderful, Gina! Congrats on your Top 9!!!!

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  9. Oh, Gina,
    I don't know how I missed this one. This soup sounds so satisfying and
    flavorful. especially with the turkey and quinoa meatballs. I'm pinning this one.

    Congrats on the Top 9 today!

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  10. Well done landing in the Top 9! Super deserving dish. You know, I had to google posole :( For shame. But! Now I am better informed and a far less clueless foodie

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  11. Sounds delicious. I love any type of soup with cumin in.

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  12. Thanks everyone for the buzzing! I'm lucky my husband loves soup for dinner, so we try and have it often.
    -Gina-

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  13. Beautiful soup sweetie...glad you were able to stop the mini war going on inside your head :)
    Big hugs and hope you have a great week!

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  14. reach soup! the type I do like
    nicely decorated!

    Life and travelling
    Cooking

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  15. What fantastic meal; perfect for our cold weather.
    Rita

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  16. Looks like you had Top 9 with this. Congrats! Great idea to combining two dishes into one. I need to shed some weight and this soup looks perfect. My husband probably won't consider this as soup since there are nice meatballs in it. I'm getting hungry again (my tummy clock is still screwed up).

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  17. Hi Gina-thanks for your kind comment on my blog. No wonder you made the Top 9 with your amazing soup...so comforting, and delicious. The meatballs are amazing, and the presentation is superb. Congratulations...well deserved:DDD
    Hugs,

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  18. My mouth is watering right now! I love your healthier posole recipe. This is definitely one for my to try, not the biggest pork fan.

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  19. Wow, this sounds like a fantastic recipe! I cannot wait to try it! Thanks for sharing.
    xo
    http://allykayler.blogspot.com/

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  20. WOW!! I love this recipe, perfect comfort food!!

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