Lamb Meatball Couscous Soup

This lamb meatball couscous soup combines homemade spiced lamb meatballs, Israeli couscous and a light flavorful broth. Plus it’s ready in under 1 hour!

I officially calling this week “soup week” here on Nutmeg Nanny. I posted my new england clam chowder on Monday and looked into my reserves and saw I had 2 more soup recipes waiting to be posted. What the heck, lets just do them all in one week. Plus it’s still snowy and cold here so the only thing that actually sounds good to me lately is hot soup.

I hate to be the type of person who complains about the weather but I’m over it. Luckily for me I’m heading off to Florida soon so I can defrost while I’m down there. Plus while I’m there I get to finally meet my new nephew!!!

Now, about this soup. This baby is packed full of lightly spiced lamb meatballs and paired with a light broth and lots of big fat Israeli couscous. The great thing about this soup is that you can prepare the meatballs ahead and then all you need to cook the day of making the soup is the broth and couscous. Just throw in the meatballs and let them warm.

I actually love the meatball making part of this soup. There is something stress releasing about plunging your hands into a bowl full of cold meat and rolling it out into little meatballs. I know, it’s sounds gross. As I typed that I thought to myself “Brandy. You cannot talk about how you like to plunge your hands into raw meat and make meatballs. You sounds like a freak.”

Fine. I’m a freak. It’s ok, I know it.

{Looking for ever more delicious soup ideas? Try these on for size: cream of roasted asparagus soup, cauliflower cheddar beer soup and slow cooker beef barley soup}

Lamb Meatball Couscous Soup

This lamb meatball couscous soup combines homemade spiced lamb meatballs, Israeli couscous and a light flavorful broth. Plus it's ready in under 1 hour!

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

For meatballs:

• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon fresh minced rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

For soup:

• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup Israeli couscous
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste

Slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma

Directions:

For meatballs:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl add all ingredients and mix together until the meat is fully mixed.

Roll the meat into 1 tablespoon sized meatballs.

Place meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes until no longer pink on the outside.

When ready remove from the oven and set aside while you complete the rest of the soup.

For soup:
While the meatballs are cooking start preparing your couscous. In a medium sized pot set over high heat add water and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook the couscous until all the water has been absorbed and the couscous is fully cooked.

Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a medium sized soup pot set over medium heat add olive oil. Once the oil is hot add in the onion and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add in garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in chicken stock and tomatoes paste.

Add in meatballs and couscous and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until meatballs are warmed.

Note: You can also equally divide the couscous into bowls and pour the hot soup over it if you don't want it soaking up any of the broth during the simmering stage.