Kale Meatball Soup, for the banchan spread

Italian style meatballs and Chinese kale makes a savory soup. This comforting soup is easily made at home and provides a deep earthy flavor. You can use different kind of kale for this recipe.

“Cloudy day with a chance of meatball…”
What a steady subtitle for this soup?

We often make soups for those days when there is no signs of bright sunlight.
We don’t know…, maybe the biological system in our body commands the brain to do that.

So here, we gathered up some greens that we have in our fridge, and dumped in the chicken stock, and crossing our fingers for a magic.
Of course…, for being a domestic witch we pour the magic potion, cast a spell, and “Voila!” – the comforting Kale Meatball Soup is born!!!!

Kai-lan, the Chinese kale/broccoli

These are the greens we used. It is called “Kai-lan”, the Chinese kale. You can absolutely use the ordinary kale for this recipe. We just couldn’t find it where we 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.

Our fusion attempt for this soup is that we use this Chinese kale to make Italian style soup with meatballs. Yes, it is savory to the taste and so good for you, not to mention how direct it is to make…

Clean the kale.

Our 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 (we always use low-sodium). Here is our 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. We 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.

The magic sprinkle for the final touch. The nutmeg! Just a little bit. Love the flavor it adds to the greens…
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…)

• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 30 minutes
• Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb 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 inch small thin slice Parmesan cheese
• dashes freshly ground nutmeg
• dash pepper

For meatballs

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper, to taste

Method

1. For the meatball, mix all the ingredients and roll into 1-inch balls.
2. Heat oil in a soup pot, brown the meatballs evenly all over; set aside.
3. 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.
4. 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.