Hatch Chile Turkey Meatball Noodle Soup

It's hatch chile season. So me, not being a big spicy person (read: no spicy spicy please and thank you), has never really gone for the hatch festivals and roasting. And these festivals are a thing. When I went to the grocery to buy these at peak season, there was a guy SO PSYCHED they were roasting chilis outside the store that he stood in front of my car to take pictures from multiple angles while smiling like a crazy person. I was also driving our Prius, so I don't think he had any idea I was sneaking up on him (electric vehicles man... they'll get you). But many people love hatch chiles, and I'm starting to understand why. That's why we're putting them inside meatballs (read: freezable for all the hatch chile the whole fall!) to eat alone, in a sub or in a soup with noodles like today.

I love having stocks and broths on hand in the pantry, especially as the weather gets a little cooler. Nothing is easier than taking chicken stock and blending it with roasted butternut squash or even a veggie version with lentils for a filling soup. Today's recipe is a spin on chicken noodle soup with everything turkey. Pacific's Organic Turkey Broth uses free range, organic turkey meat, onion, sea salt and other natural flavors to simmer into this beautiful broth. It adds a ton of warm depth to the soup. The noodles need it and you're going to love it. 

Pacific Foods Organic Turkey Broth

Let's talk about these turkey hatch chile meatballs for a second. First of all meatballs (or falafel, or lentil balls for that matter) are amazing. You can put them with pasta, in a soup, on a sandwich or plain with jam (possibly my favorite thing IKEA has brought the world). They freeze beautifully meaning your hard work gets paid off weeks later. And to that end, when you're using a seasonal piece of produce, like hatch chilies, you can embed flavor into something to enjoy well past the season in question. 

Hatch Chili Turkey Meatball Noodle Soup

Serves 4

/// Ingredients ///

• 1 c chopped carrots
• 1 c chopped celery
• 1 c chopped white onion
• 2 1/2 T olive oil
• 1 c chopped mushrooms (mixed variety)
• 2 hatch chilis, medium, roasted, deseeded and chopped ( 3/4 c total)
• 1/4 t cumin
• 2 large garlic cloves, grated
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c unseasoned bread crumbs
• Pacific Foods Organic Turkey Broth
• 8 oz large noodles
• salt
• black pepper
• spinach (optional)

Pacific Foods Organic Turkey Broth

/// Directions /// Preheat oven to 425 F. Add chopped celery, carrots and onion with 1 1/2 T olive oil to a pan with edges for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven when done and keep oven on for meatballs. While veggies are roasting add mushrooms and olive oil to a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes until mushrooms begin to evaporate moisture released. Once liquid evaporates, press into a single layer to brown mushrooms for an additional five minutes (do not stir). Remove from skillet and add to a bowl with ground turkey, cumin, garlic, egg and breadcrumbs. To prep chilis, roast hatch chilis or buy pre-roasted chilis. Cut off tops and slice in half. Remove seeds and chop hatch chilis. Add to bowl and mix turkey ingredients. Once combined, roll into balls (about 20) and place on a pan. Reduce oven heat to 400 F and cook for about 20 minutes or until the tops are browned and there is no pink remaining within the meatballs. Cook pasta and add to broth with veggies and heat. Serve with meatballs, black pepper and salt. Spinach is a great optional topping as well (which I forgot to add but really, it would be delicious and nutritious). 

What do you do with hatch chiles?

Disclosure: This post is part of a partnership with Pacific Foods. You can see other recipes Pacific Foods has sponsored and whip them up this weekend by making our veggie polenta bahn mi or summer pho!