Turkey & Spinach Meatballs in Broth

Ingredients

• 500 g turkey mince
• 1 egg
• 1.5 litres good chicken stock
• 50 g breadcrumbs
• 100 g spinach, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 lemon, juice and zest
• Natural yoghurt, to serve
• Fresh parsley, to serve

Method

1. Tip the turkey mince into a large bowl with the cooled red lentils, chopped spinach, breadcrumbs, egg, crushed garlic and oregano. Season generously with salt and plenty of black pepper — turkey is lean and mild, so under-seasoning here means a flat meatball later. Mix with your hands until just combined; the mixture should feel soft and tacky but hold its shape when you pinch a piece.
2. Roll into 24 walnut-sized meatballs, wetting your hands if the mix sticks. Set them on a plate while you get the broth going. Don't crowd them on the plate — keep them in a single layer so they hold their shape.
3. Pour the chicken stock into a wide, deep pan and bring to a gentle simmer. You want it trembling, with a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface — a rolling boil will tear the meatballs apart and cloud the broth.
4. Lower the meatballs in one by one so the stock stays at that gentle tremble. Simmer for 15 minutes, until firm to the touch and cooked through. The garlic inside the meatballs cooks slowly in the moist heat — no risk of it burning here, but if any pale foam rises to the top, skim it off so the broth stays clear.
5. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and the extra handful of spinach leaves. Simmer for another 2 minutes, just until the spinach collapses and the broth smells bright and citrussy — the lemon juice goes in now, off a hard boil, so the acid stays lively rather than cooking out.
6. Taste the broth. A good chicken stock carries most of the seasoning, but it almost always wants one more pinch of salt to pull the lemon and spinach together. Taste again, adjust now — at the stove, not at the table.
7. Ladle the broth and meatballs into warm bowls. Scatter the sliced spring onions over each bowl, grate a little extra lemon zest on top, and finish with a generous crack of black pepper.