Moroccan Lentil and Turkey Meatball Soup (A QCQ Original!)

A Queen City Quisine original recipe for Moroccan red lentil and turkey meatball soup.  

Chopped garlic

Saute in a little olive oil. 

Chopped onion

Add onions, carrots and celery.

Let the veggies cook until soft.  

Dried red lentils

Found this blend at a local spice store.  Smelled it and thought it would be perfect to season some Moroccan lentil soup.  

Add the spices.

I also added a little bit of ground ginger and turmeric to add to the flavor.  Mix up the spices and veggies and let them cook for a few minutes.

Add the dried lentils and toast for a few more minutes.  

Add a can of diced tomatoes (I used 28 oz.).

Then add the vegetable broth and water.

Bring to a boil.  While waiting for the soup to boil, make the meatballs.

Mix ground turkey with a teaspoon of egg beaters, 2 tablespoons of whole wheat breadcrumbs and a tablespoon of assorted herbs (I used a Moroccan herb blend I found at a local spice store).  

Roll out the meatballs and throw into the soup.  

I was able to get 20 meatballs out of 13 oz. of ground turkey.

Let the soup simmer until lentils are tender and meatballs are cooked through.  This took no more than 30 minutes.  

I added a teaspoon of Umami paste for additional flavor.  

I plugged the ingredients and quantities into livestrong.com's recipe calculator and came out with 149 calories per 1 cup (incl. 2 meatballs).  This recipe should make about 10 cups of soup.  

Ingredients:

2 cups onions (diced)

1 cup carrots (chopped)

1 cup celery (chopped)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp Moroccan seasoning blend* (Try Penzey's or a local spice store to find such a blend)

1 cup dried red lentils

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable broth

2.5 cups water

13 oz. ground turkey (93/7)

2 tbsp. whole wheat breadcrumbs

1 tsp. egg beaters

1 tbsp. Moroccan herb blend*

1 tsp. Umami paste (optional)

Directions:

Heat a little olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, onions, carrots and celery and cook until soft (about 5-7 minutes).  Add Moroccan seasoning blend and stir to coat the vegetables.  Let cook for another 2 minutes.  Add the dried lentils and stir.  Let the lentils toast for about a minute.  Add the can of diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and water.  Bring to a boil.  

While waiting for the soup to come to a boil, in a bowl mix the ground turkey with the bread crumbs, egg beaters, and Moroccan herb blend.  Roll the mixture into 20 small meatballs.  Once the soup is boiling, add the meatballs.  Gently stir.  Let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes until lentils are tender and meatballs are cooked through.  

*If you are unable to find a Moroccan seasoning blend or Moroccan herb blend at a store, you can make your own out of spices you probably have in your pantry.  For the seasoning, you can mix ground turmeric, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, etc...  For the herb blend, you can mix dried parsley, mint, and cilantro.