I’ve written about the satisfaction of bowl food at this time of year, but there’s another style of food that’s equally comforting in the winter: meatballs. After all, who doesn’t like a good meatball?

Meatballs come in all sizes -- small, large, patties -- with different types of protein (beef, pork, lamb, turkey, chicken, even fish), while variations effortlessly veer away from “meat” to other star ingredients, such as pulses, beans and grains. In other words, meatballs are versatile and universally pleasing to eat, appealing to most diets and preferences. They are also efficiently economical, a great way to stretch inexpensive ingredients, and they can be frozen or refrigerated for later use, which is ideal for an easy weeknight meal.

This soup recipe is a two-fer. It’s a steaming bowl of comforting soup packed with turkey meatballs floating in a nourishing chicken broth. The recipe takes inspiration from an Italian wedding soup, a classic Italian-American vegetable and meatball soup (and to be clear, the term “wedding” refers to the marriage of its ingredients, not the celebration of a romantic union). There are numerous iterations of an Italian wedding soup. The meatballs can be made of chicken, turkey, beef or pork, which mingle with diced aromatics, such as onion, carrot and celery. For extra substance, the soup sometimes includes pasta. In other words, how you make it is open to your interpretation, taste and the contents of your refrigerator.

In this recipe, I’ve omitted the pasta and amped up the flavor of the broth and meatballs with copious amounts of cheese. While Parmesan is a popular go-to, I find that the salty sharpness of pecorino Romano adds more oomph and flavor to the meatballs. A hunk of cheese rind is added to the broth (a humble and effective no-waste technique to build flavor and body), which accentuates a cheesy-umami richness in an otherwise simple soup.

Feel free to use this recipe as a template and make your own modifications depending on what you have on hand. For instance, if you have some post-Thanksgiving frozen turkey stock, use that for the base of the soup. Or switch out the ground turkey for ground chicken to make the meatballs. If you would like to add some pasta, try orzo or a small tubular pasta, such as ditalini -- and note that you may need to add more stock, since the pasta will absorb some as it cooks. If you don’t have homemade stock on hand, a good-quality store-bought chicken stock will easily stand in for a quick weeknight dinner.

Cheesy Turkey Meatball Soup

Active time: 45 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes, plus chilling time

Yield: Serves: 4 to 5, makes about 16 meatballs

Meatballs:

1 pound ground turkey (or chicken)

1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup packed finely grated pecorino Romano cheese

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley leaves

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Vegetable oil

Soup:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, sliced

1 celery stalk, diced

Kosher salt

5 to 6 cups chicken stock

1 (2-inch) chunk Parmesan rind

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups spinach leaves or coarsely chopped kale leaves

Grated pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Combine the meatball ingredients (excluding oil) in a bowl and mix to blend. Form into 1-inch meatballs, flatten slightly, and place on a plate. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a deep skillet or soup pot. Add the meatballs in one layer without overcrowding, in batches if necessary. Brown on both sides, turning when they release easily from the pan, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel. (They will finish cooking in the soup.)

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the onion, carrots, celery and a pinch of salt to the skillet and saute until the vegetables are bright and tender, 3 to 4 minutes, stirring up any brown bits. Add the stock, cheese, bay leaf, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the black pepper. Partially cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add the meatballs and continue to cook until the meatballs are fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in the greens and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired. Ladle into bowls and serve with the cheese for sprinkling.

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CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Winter is citrus season, so let these orange-infused cookies snap you out of any seasonal doldrums and brighten your day. This recipe is inspired by a favorite orange olive oil cake that is made with polenta. Olive oil replaces butter in the cookie dough, which results in a soft and chewy cookie, mildly redolent with the oil. Stoneground cornmeal is added to the flour mix to deliver satisfying crunch to every bite without compromising the cookie’s delicate texture.

These cookies are light and delicate. Do not skimp on the orange zest, which should ripple throughout the cookie. Use a high-quality extra-virgin olive oil with a mild flavor -- nothing too grassy or peppery -- so the oil will gently perfume the cookies without overwhelming. Bake the cookies until set and the tops are crinkled, but without coloring. The texture of the cookie will be soft and chewy with firm exterior. Resist baking them until golden, which will result in a crunchy cookie with a toasty flavor that (while pleasant) will overpower the fragrance of the orange and olive oil.

Orange Olive Oil Cookies

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: Makes about 24

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup stoneground cornmeal (medium grind)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon if using table salt)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large egg, room temperature

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Zest of one untreated orange

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt and baking soda in a bowl and whisk to blend.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the sugar, oil, egg, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.

Put 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar in a small shallow bowl.

Scoop out and gently shape 1 tablespoon-sized balls of dough. Roll in the sugar, then arrange on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart and press gently to slightly flatten.

Bake until the tops of the cookies are crinkled without coloring, about 12 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the cookies cool completely.

Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to one month.

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CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Caption 01: Photo by Lynda Balslev for TasteFood

It would be inaccurate to call this nourishing soup an authentic Vietnamese pho. The essence of pho is a daylong-simmered broth, typically made from beef or chicken bones. A handful of whole spices, such as star anise, cinnamon, cloves and coriander, mingle with the stock, infusing the soup with layers of flavor and fragrance. The broth is then ladled into deep, wide bowls filled with rice noodles and strips of beef, chicken or perhaps tofu. A slew of fresh garnishes and bowls of spicy condiments accompany the soup, ready for dipping and scattering over the steamy bowl.

It’s understandable that a piping hot bowl of pho is a crave-able meal, especially on a cold winter evening. It’s also predictable that cravings can strike unannounced and without mercy, inconsiderate of convenience and when you are least prepared. In these urgent moments, the solution is to improvise.

This simple soup is an easy weeknight dish that mimics a pho without the loving labor of time that would make it truly authentic. It relies on a prepared or store-bought stock simmered with a few toasted aromatics to build flavor in a quickly assembled soup. You might call it a faux pho.

For this soup, use a good-quality prepared chicken stock or bone broth. For the meat, you can cook and shred chicken meat or rely on leftovers. Don’t skimp on the fresh garnishes, which are an important component of the soup: crisp bean sprouts, leafy herbs and fresh chiles, along with squirts of lime, Sriracha and hoisin provide freshness and heat to the heady broth. In pho terms, it may not be the real deal, but for an easy weeknight dinner, it’s a satisfying and slurp-worthy alternative.

Vietnamese Chicken and Rice Noodle Soup

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: Serves 4

1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as grapeseed

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 (2-inch) knob of fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

6 cloves

2 star anise

1 (2-inch) stick cinnamon

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

6 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 teaspoon kosher salt

8 ounces vermicelli rice noodles

2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken meat

3 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Garnishes:

Sliced red or green jalapeno peppers

Mung bean sprouts

Fresh mint, cilantro, and/or Thai basil leaves and sprigs

Lime wedges

Sriracha

Hoisin sauce

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and

ginger and saute until the onions begin to brown in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and peppercorns and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, cook and drain the noodles according to the package directions.

Strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot. Add the chicken to the soup and simmer over medium-low until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Divide the noodles between large serving bowls. Sprinkle an even amount of scallions and cilantro over the noodles. Ladle the soup into the bowls. Serve with the garnishes.

581-7500

CAPTIONS AND CREDITS

Caption 01: Photo by Lynda Balslev for TasteFood