I have a perfect recipe for a Sunday lunch on a cold day. This carrot soup with spicy meatballs is a simple yet delicious dish, always appreciated by everyone. The creamy and sweet carrot soup combined with juicy spicy meatballs make a great rich bowl of comfort food.
The inspiration came from the Italian “zuppa” or “minestrone con polpettine”. A simple yet flavourful soup is a classic dish in the Italian kitchen. Nevertheless, I still made some small modifications. Usually, the meatballs are cooked rather than browned. However, I wanted them to have that lovely browned crust.
Moreover, I also wanted meatballs with a kick. I added chili. Wohhooo! Since I used two chilis, the meatballs turned out really kicking hot. Wink. Therefore, instead of two, you can use only one or you can skip chili as well. Of course, if you really love spicy food, you can go big and add more chilis.
The beauty and the advantage of this soup recipe is the possibility of modifying it according to the taste preferences. Therefore, you can use any combination for meatballs and any vegetable combo for the soup. For instance, check these delicious cranberry meatballs, the tender baked zucchini cakes or these sweet meatballs with dates.
Pick your own vegetables
Also, in case you don’t like or you don’t find any carrots for the soup, you can use parsnip, or red cabbage, beetroot, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, zucchini and so on. As I said, you can take any vegetable you like. For more inspiration, you might check these: a wonderful red cabbage soup, a creamy cauliflower soup or a healthy avocado-yoghurt soup.
Making this soup is quick and easy. It’s true. Even though you have to make the meatballs separately, you still make them while the soup is cooking, so you can save some time. It’s just perfect either for week dinner or Sunday lunch.
Furthermore, this recipe serves around 25-28 spicy meatballs which equal four portions. Wink. Despite the spiciness, I managed to eat a whole portion. A little plain yoghurt helps a lot, to put “the fire” out. I also served some additional yoghurt in a small glass. Just in case. Wink.
Ingredients for 4 portions of carrot soup with spicy meatballs:
- 300 g minced meat (beef, pork, chicken)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2 chilis (chopped)
- salt and pepper
- 100 g ground hazelnuts
- olive oil
- 1 rosemary stem
- 5-6 carrots (cut in chunks)
- 300-400 g whole peeled tomatoes (pelati)
- 400-500 ml of vegetable stock or water
- yoghurt (optional)
- rocket (garnish)
In a larger bowl, combine the minced meat, chopped garlic, chopped chilis, ground hazelnuts, salt and pepper. I always mix with my hands, when making meatballs. Keep squeezing the meat through your finger, at first. As a result, the mixture will be well amalgamated and the meatballs won’t fall apart.
In order to prevent the meat from sticking to your hands, lightly wet your hands. Then, start forming the meatballs. I suggest making them between 3-4 cm big. Like that, they will be cooked quickly and they will still have a bite-size. Once you used all of the meat mixtures, place the meatballs in the fridge for about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, start preparing the soup. In a pot, drizzle some olive oil and when it gets hot, add the carrots (cut into chunks) and rosemary. Stir for a couple of minutes and then pour in the tomatoes and the hot vegetable stock (or water). Continue to cook until the carrots turn tender.
Crispy and spicy meatballs
Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Take the spicy meatballs out of the fridge. Then, drizzle some olive oil in a larger pan. When it gets hot, add the meatballs (in a single layer) and brown them on all sides.
After they get a lovely browned skin, remove them from the pan and keep them warm. Last but not least, remove the pot with the soup from the heat and puree the carrots (with an immersion blender) until smooth and thick.
Finally, divide the carrot soup with spicy meatballs between the bowls. I also added some rocket leaves and a spoon of plain yoghurt. You can serve it also with a slice of bread, some rice or potatoes. Whichever combination you make, it will still be a wonderful rich bowl of soup.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
