Spring Lamb Meatball Soup with Greens, Mushrooms and Mint

Grassfed lamb or goat meatball stew recipe with greens and fava beans

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5 from 1 vote

Spring Lamb Meatball Soup with Greens, Mushrooms and Mint

A stew of grassfed lamb or goat meatballs with dried fava beans and mint. Serves 2-4.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Total Time1 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Lamb, Stew

Servings: People

Calories: 624kcal

Cost: 5

Equipment

1 3 quart soup pot or similar

Ingredients

Meatballs (or use 1 lb of your favorite recipe)

1 lb ground lamb or ground beef
¼ cup breadcrumbs
1 large egg
¼ lb lamb bacon optional you can use our lamb bacon, or your favorite
¼ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup chopped onion or shallot

Stew

6 oz spring onion green garlic, ramp bulbs or similar
4 oz 2 cups chopped wild mushrooms
3 cups chicken stock or lamb stock
4 oz 2 packed cups fresh greens, like spinach, nettles, etc
¾ cup dried fava beans or 2 cups cooked beans or your choice
Fresh mint for serving
2 tablespoons cooking olive oil
Wild flowers to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Soak the dried fava beans if using in twice their volume of water to cover. You can also substitute a can of cooked chickpeas.
For the meatballs, pulse the bacon in a food processor with the onion or shallot until smooth-ish. Mix the bacon mixture and remaining meatball ingredients, then form the meatball mixture into small meatballs.
For the stew, heat the olive oil in a stew pot or dutch oven on medium high heat then brown the meatballs. When the meatballs are browned, remove, then add the onions, sweat for a minute, then push to the side and add the mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the meat stock, meatballs and soaked fava beans, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30-45 minutes, or until the beans are tender.
Stir in the greens, just to wilt, double check the seasoning for salt and pepper, adjust as needed. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve garnished with the fresh mint and wildflowers if using.

Video

Notes

This is a simple recipe you can adapt to what you have on hand. I like fresh, spring flavors here. Finishing it with a dash of lemon juice can be nice.

Adding some curry powder to the meatball mixture is another nice variation to try.

Nutrition