Turkish meatball soup or sulu köfte is a soup that's hearty enough for a meal and very satisfying to eat because it's full of loads of small bulgur and ground meat meatballs, alongside chunks of potatoes and a flavorful broth thick with finely diced vegetables.
There are a lot of ways to make meatball soup. What makes this a nice variation is:
- Lots of small meatballs make the soup feel rich and hearty.
- Red pepper paste (biber salcasi) and ground Aleppo pepper (pul biber) contribute a lot of big flavor in little time.
Recipe
Turkish Meatball Soup (Sulu Kofte)
Ingredients
meatballs
- 300 grams ground beef or lamb about 1 lb
- 5 tablespoon fine bulgur wheat or substitute rice
- 1 egg
- 0.25 cup yellow onion
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon pul biber (Aleppo pepper) or see substitutions
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
soup
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 0.5 cup yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoon biber salcasi (Turkish red pepper paste) or see substitutions
- 2 cups potatoes
- 1 cup carrots
- 1.5 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried mint
- 0.5 teaspoon pul biber (Aleppo pepper)
- 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoon fresh parsley
- 1.25 liters water about 5 cups or more as needed
Equipment
- 1 large soup pot with lid The pot pictured here is the Le Creuset braiser which has a 3.3 liter / 3.5 quart capacity.
Instructions
prep the ingredients
- Finely dice about 0.25 cup yellow onion and 0.5 cup yellow onion equivalent (can vary but for me it was 2 medium sized onions).
- Mince, mash or grate 3 cloves of garlic.
- Cube the equivalent of 2 cups potatoes (can vary but for me it was 2 large potatoes).
- Peel and slice the equivalent of 1 cup carrots (can vary but for me it was 2 medium sized carrots).
- Wash and chop the equivalent of about 6 tablespoons parsley.
make the soup
- Heat about 3 tablespoon vegetable oil in the soup pot over medium heat.
- Sauté 0.5 cup yellow onion along with the equivalent of 1 clove garlic until they are translucent and aromatic (4-5 minutes).
- Add 2 tablespoon biber salcasi (Turkish red pepper paste) and sauté until aromatic (another 2-3 minutes).
- Add the 2 cups potatoes 1 cup carrots1.5 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon dried mint, 0.5 teaspoon pul biber (Aleppo pepper), 0.5 teaspoon black pepper and about 1.25 liters water (around 5 cups) or enough to cover everything in the pot and also fully submerge the meatballs when added in the next step.
- Lower heat to medium-low and simmer covered while you make the meatballs.
make the meatballs
- In a large bowl combine 300 grams ground beef or lamb (about 1 lb), 5 tablespoon fine bulgur wheat, 1 egg, 0.25 cup yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoon fresh parsley, 1 teaspoon pul biber (Aleppo pepper), 1 teaspoon dried mint, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 0.5 teaspoon salt. Mix well until an even paste forms.
- Roll the mixture into smallish balls about the size of a grape or cherry tomato. Set the meatballs out on a plate or cutting board until they are all rolled.
finish the soup
- Uncover the soup. In order to set the meatballs it should be very hot (almost bubbling but not quite) so increase the temperature to medium if necessary.
- Sprinkle the flour over a flat plate and then gently roll each meatball through flour.
- Gently place the meatballs into the simmering soup. They should be covered with liquid so add more water as needed.
- Cover and simmer over medium low heat for about 15 minutes.
- Garnish with about 3 tablespoon fresh parsley and gently stir to incorporate.
- Very important: taste and adjust salt to your preference.
Notes
Nutrition
Step by Step Photos
Ingredients
Turkish meatball soup is made mostly with simple ingredients that you probably already have in the fridge or pantry.
Ingredients that might be less common in some kitchens are:
- Biber salcasi (Turkish red pepper paste) - This red pepper paste is made with sun dried sweet peppers which gives it a very deep umami flavor. It can be found in sweet and spicy varieties. If you don't have it then the closest substitute is an equal amount of tomato paste.
- Pul biber (ground Aleppo pepper) - Pul biber has a mildly spicy and earthy flavor which lends to bringing more depth/umami. If you don't have it you can substitute cayenne (0.5 tsp) or a mix of sweet paprika and cayenne (0.25 teaspoon each).
- Fine bulgur wheat - Bulgur wheat is a key ingredient in Middle Eastern dishes like tabbouleh and kibbeh. It's also great as a binder and to retain moisture and a soft texture in meatballs. Fine bulgur is best for meatballs. If you don't have fine bulgur wheat then use medium. If you don't have any bulgur wheat then use an equal amount of rice instead.
Making the Soup
Sauté the onion and garlic in oil before adding the other ingredients. This brings out more complex flavors.
Once the onion and garlic are soft, translucent and aromatic, add the biber salcasi (red pepper paste) to the pot and cook it until it is also aromatic.
Just like the onion and garlic, cooking the biber salcasi with dry heat in oil before adding water brings out more complex flavors. This is the same technique as cooking tomato paste to bring out more complex flavors.
A quick saute of the onion, garlic and biber salcasi are the only real flavor building steps. Thereafter, it's just a matter of adding the rest of the soup ingredients and letting it simmer while you mix and shape the meatballs.
Optional Tips
If you really want to up the flavors in this soup you can also do the following optional flavor building steps:
- Use both biber salcasi and tomato paste;
- Use store-bought or homemade stock instead of water;
- Use a bouillon cube / bouillon powder instead of plain salt;
- Add more vegetables. For example for more sweetness add zucchini/courgette, red pepper or finely shredded cabbage. For more umami add diced tomato, celery or mushrooms.
Making the meatballs
Making meatballs is simple, it's the shaping that takes some time.
The meatballs in Turkish meatball soup are distinctive for their smaller size - a bit like the meatballs in Italian wedding soup for example.
- After mixing the meatball ingredients, shape the mixture into balls around the size of a grape or cherry tomato.
- If you substitute rice for the fine bulgur, it could make it difficult to shape small meatballs.
- Same goes if the onion isn't diced finely enough.
Finishing the Soup
Sprinkle the flour onto a plate. Gently roll each meatball though it. This is to add some thickening to the soup.
The flour coating doesn't need to 100% cover the meatballs - just enough to add some thickening to the soup.
- Add the meatballs a few at a time to the soup.
- The soup should be really hot to immediately set the meatballs and prevent them from flattening too much. You may need to spend a few minutes heating the broth to a higher temperature before adding the meatballs.
Equipment
I used my Le Creuset braiser which is pictured and has a 3.3 liter / 3.5 quart capacity.
Serving Suggestion
Serve hot with some nice bread, either as a starter or a complete meal.
Related Recipes
More meatballs
- Super Saucy, Sweet & Spicy Hoisin Meatballs
- Porcupine Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorbă de Perisoare)
- Melt-in-Your-Mouth Coconut Curry Meatballs
More ground meat recipes
- Prosciutto Wrapped Parmesan Meatloaf with Crispy Sage
- Meat & Rice Stuffed Leeks
- Tourtière: French Canadian Meat Pie
More soups & stews
Here are some more soup and stew recipes:
Comments
No Comments