This a traditional Greek soup with a twist. Typically it is made with ground beef and white rice. I love making recipes my own by substituting healthier ingredients which make them more nutrient dense without jeopardizing the original flavour of the dish!

It is perfect for those cold and rainy days, or when you just feel like something warm and soothing.

Ingredients

1/2 brown rice (I use organic brown rice)

1 cup water (I used filtered water)

500 grams lean ground turkey (sometimes the package is a little over 500g and thats ok)

1 onion finely chopped (I actually grate it because my kids don't like onions, this way you get the flavor without the kids complaining about onion pieces in their food)

3 eggs - 1 for the meatball mixture / 2 for the egg/lemon sauce (I use organic free range eggs)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped or 2-3 tbsp dried parsley flakes depending on your taste

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp for meatball mixture / 1 tbsp for cooking

1 tbsp salt - 1 tsp for the meatball mixture / 2 tsp for cooking (I use sea salt)

2 litres of water (I used filtered water and boil some to have on hand if I need to add more during cooking)

2 lemons, juiced (I used organic lemons so that I can add a little lemon zest if I feel like it)

Instructions

-In a small pot cook the brown rice. Boil 1 cup of water and add the 1/2 cup of brown rice. Bring to a boil, lower heat to low, cover and cook for 50 minutes. You can also make rice ahead of time or if you have extra 'plain' rice from a previous meal you can use that.

-While rice is cooking, make your meatball mixture. In a bowl combine ground turkey, onion, 1 egg, parsley, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp salt. (I do not add raw rice to the mixture like in other recipes because I use brown rice which takes a lot longer to cook.) Mix really well and put it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

-In a larger pot add 2 litres of water, 2 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp olive oil. Bring to a boil then reduce to medium. Take out the meatball mixture from the fridge and with damp hands form round balls (size can vary to your liking, I usually make them smaller because its easier for my kids to eat), and drop them one at a time into the water. Assess the level of water and adjust to your liking. If you want it more soupy just add some boiled water. Bring it all to a boil and then reduce heat to medium again, cover and let cook for 20 minutes.

-By this time rice should be ready. Add the cooked rice to the pot of meatball soup. Stir well. Cover again and let cook for another 5-10 minutes.

-Prepare the Avgolemono (Egg/Lemon Sauce). Whisk 2 eggs and then add juice of two lemons, and whisk again until combined well.

-Take the pot of soup off from heat, slowly add two ladles of soup liquid into the egg/lemon mixture and stir stir stir. Then slowly add the entire mixture back into the pot, again stir stir stir. Return pot to heat for 2 minutes to heat through. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.

-Serve with extra olive oil drizzled on top, and / or sprinkle some pepper for a little spice, and / or add some fresh chopped parsley.

*Make it a complete meal and serve with organic romaine lettuce salad, Greek feta and green olives. 

That's it... Enjoy! Καλή όρεξη! Bon appetite, now you may eat 😊 

-Please feel free to ask me any questions, or send comments below and I will respond within 24 hrs.-