Caramelized Vegetable & Meatball Soup

2009 turns over a new leaf for our household. With weight and cholesterol counts up, it's time to start anew and get healthy. The new "regime" is mostly for me, but Brad is coming along for the ride. It may be a bit bumpy for him as vegetables are generally anathema to him, however, so far so good.

I talked about this new healthy direction on of my favorite blogs -- http://www.chewonthatblg.com/ -- and you can see my comments and other healthy food bloggers at the following link: http://chewonthatblog.com/2009/01/07/january-monthly-mouthful-2/

I made this recipe before my trip to New Orleans so Brad would have something good and easy to prepare from the refrigerator when he came home from work each night. He thinks it's one of the best soup recipes I have made in a long while and I tend to agree. So far, this means we're off to a good start with the diet and vegetable intake!

The recipe was discovered in the January 2009 issue of Sunset magazine. For a 1-1/2 cup serving, there is only 330 calories and 6.7 grams of fiber.

The soup gets all of its flavors from the caramelized vegetables (and garlic cloves) -- roasted in the oven until they are crispy and sweet. (I almost wanted to eat them right out of the oven instead of putting them into the soup.) The other key ingredient is turkey meatballs, which are also roasted in the oven to get them browned and caramelized before going into the soup pot.

If you're a vegetarian, this recipe is easily adaptable. Simply eliminate the steps for the turkey meatballs and cook with organic vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

There are a few steps to the soup because of the roasting, but it's really a very easy recipe and the perfect thing for a Sunday meal with leftovers on Monday after work. Try it out and let me know how you like it.


CARAMELIZED VEGETABLE AND MEATBALL SOUP
Serves 6 to 8 (makes 12 cups)
Time: About 1-3/4 hours

1 small peeled, seeded butternut squash
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
2 each large carrots and parsnips, peeled
15-20 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 c. olive oil, divided
2-1/2 t. kosher salt, divided
1-1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 lb. ground turkey (not breast only)
1 T. fennel seeds
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 large leeks, cut into 1/4-in. slices and rinsed
1 large head fennel, cut into 1/4-in. slices
8-12 cups reduced sodium or homemade chicken broth


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Cut squash, potatoes, carrots and parsnips into 1-inch pieces and put in a large oiled roasting pan; add garlic. Toss with 2-1/2 T. olive oil; 1-1/2 t. salt, and 1 t. pepper and spread out in a single layer, leaving as much room as possible around the pieces. Roast vegetables on lower rack about 40 minutes, or until browned and tender (stir after they've browned underneath,about 25 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, make meatballs: With wet hands, mix turkey, fennel seeds, egg, 1 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper together in a small bowl. Oil your hands with some of remaining oil. Shape turkey mixture into 1-in.meatballs and set them on an oiled rimmed baking sheet as you go, using more oil as needed to coat them well. Roast meatballs on upper rack 15-20 minutes, turning a couple of times to brown well on all sides.

3. Heat 1T. olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and fennel, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil over high heat, covered. Lower heat and simmer vegetables until meltingly soft, about 25 minutes.

4. When vegetables in oven have caramelized and meatballs are browned, remove both from oven. Pour a ladleful of hot broth on to both baking sheets/roasting pan and scrape up browned bits. Put all ingredients into soup pot and heat until all flavors have mingled and are hot.