“Cloudy day with a chance of meatball…”
What a perfect subtitle for this soup?
I often make soups for those days when there is no signs of bright sunlight.
I don’t know…, maybe the biological system in my body commands the brain to do that.
So here, I gathered up some greens that I have in my fridge, and dumped in the chicken stock, and crossing my fingers for a magic.
Of course…, for being a domestic witch I pour the magic potion, cast a spell, and “Voila!” – the very comforting Kale Meatball Soup is born!!!!
These are the greens I used. It is called “Kai-lan”, the Chinese kale. You can absolutely use the ordinary kale for this recipe. I just couldn’t find it where I live.
Chinese kale is less bitter and more tender than regular kale. You can eat the stem as well since it gets tender once cooked.
My fusion attempt for this soup is that I use this Chinese kale to make Italian style soup with meatballs. Yes, it is delicious to the taste and so good for you, not to mention how easy it is to make…
Clean the kale.
My tip to clean leafy vegetables — Use baking soda! Soak vegetables in the water with 1 tablespoon of baking soda for 5-10 minutes, then rinse. That will take care of pesticides and other impure teeny-weeny life forms.
Meanwhile let’s make meatballs.
Combine all the ingredients; beef, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
Crack an egg and add to them.
Mix until combined.
Roll into 1″ size clones of balls
Chop onion.
and kale into small chunks.
You might think it is a lot of kale but they will reduce in volume once cooked.
Brown the meatball with a little bit of olive oil in a soup pot.
Take them out and set aside.
In the same pot, saute the onion for 1 minute
and add our green goddess. Continue to saute for 2 more minutes. They will shrink.
Add chicken stock (I always use low-sodium)
Here is my witch spell. What is this? … a small slice of Parmesan cheese.
Throw in the soup with reserved meatballs.
The cheese will slowly melt and adds in-depth flavor for this soup. You will love it. I promise.
Close the lid and bring to gentle boil, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes or until the kale gets soft and tender.
Mmmmm… Looks good but not quite ready yet.
All done. Ladle up in a bowl and serve with crusty bread.
Good soup,
Good bread,
Good life.
Enjoy!
P.S : Remember the good manner.
(You know…, the noise you don’t make when you are eating the soup…)
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb (12 oz) Chinese kale or other kale (stemmed), chopped
- 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 5 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 1/4" small thin slice of Parmesan cheese
- dashes of freshly ground nutmeg
- dash pepper
- For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- For the meatball, mix all the ingredients and roll into 1” balls.
- Heat oil in a soup pot, brown the meatballs evenly all over.. Set aside.
- Add onion and garlic and saute for 1 minutes, add kale and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Pour chicken stock, add meatballs and the Parmesan cheese slice, and bring them to gentle boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the kale gets soft. Add a few dashes of freshly ground nutmeg at the end and let all the flavor mingle.
- Serve hot with crusty bread.
I like to mix the meatballs with some rice, awesome flavour 🙂
and very good recipe 🙂
That baking soda tip is great! And I agree about the Parmesan cheese – I often add it to my soups. Anyway, I like this soup – dark greens go well in soup, and I'm always looking for new ideas. I never make meatballs, which is a mistake – but they go well in soup, and this pairing is inspired. Thanks for this.
It looks like Thai food.
Kale is one of my favorite veggies. Wish I had more recipes to put it in! Gonna bookmark this to make for dinner one night!
-TA
http://www.laptopsandlipgloss.blogspot.com
What a great idea mixing rice in meatballs. Thanks.
I'm salivating as I read your post. I have to attempt this one day.
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I've been reading your blog for a long time, but this is the first time I've gathered up the courage to try a recipe, and I loved it! You have a wonderful writing style and the dish was so delicious. Thank you for all your recipes and I look forward to reading about and trying more!
Thank you. I am so glad that you enjoyed. Comments like this do means a lot to me and encourage me to keep going.
Of course! I need to find the time to attempt to cook this. Yum…
yummie ! 🙂