Meatball Kale Soup

I was in the kitchen the other afternoon. It was a Thursday, with my market shopping Saturday still two days away. I was looking at what dwindling fresh produce I had left in the refrigerator and trying to come up with something for dinner. One bunch of kale, a couple turnips, a few carrots and a pound of hamburger meat. Hmm.... So this is what I came up with. I was delighted with my results, it was so good! My husband, who had been working late and hadn't watched me prepare it, even had to ask me where I got the meatballs; he said they looked so perfect and were so tasty that I must have bought them from the store. I smiled and said,

"No store bought, factory made, frozen meatballs for my family, I'm a homemaker and I have plenty of time to actually cook for my family."

Pair this soup with some nice thick slices of freshly made whole wheat bread and you've got the perfect Autumn dinner for your table.

A note about the meatballs: The one pound of hamburger made 33 one inch meatballs, way too many for my soup to handle. I ended up putting 17 meatballs into my soup (a little less then what my recipe says below because I have two little boys who don't eat much.) While the soup was simmering, I cooked up the rest of the meatballs in a skillet and then froze them for use in a future meal.

Another note about the beef base: I keep a jar of beef base in my refrigerator. I make a lot of soups and other things that require broth. I have found the Better Than Bouillon paste products to be the best tasting broths or stocks out there, hands down 100% better than something out of a can. I find this at my local Costco; it carries the organic reduced sodium base that I like the best.

Soup Serves 4

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground hamburger
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
a few sprinkles of garlic powder
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 lg egg


Into a large bowl, put the hamburger, bread crumbs, spices and Worcestershire sauce. In a small, tall-sided bowl, beat the egg until good and frothy with a wire whisk. Add the egg to the hamburger and mix up all ingredients with a fork.

With clean hands (free of wedding rings and such) pinch off just enough hamburger mixture to measure about an inch. Without putting pressure on it, roll the hamburger in a circle between the palms of your hands until you have a uniform 1 inch round meatball. Place onto a large rimmed cookie sheet. Repeat until all meatballs are made. You should have about 32-33 meatballs when done. Place the sheet into the refrigerator until ready to use.

Soup:

1 celery rib, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped

1 small onion, chopped
12 c. water
8 tsp Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
2 turnips, chopped
1 small bunch of kale, well rinsed and shredded

In a dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped celery, carrots and onion and saute them for 5 minutes. Add the beef base paste and warm, stirring, for about a minute. Then add the 12 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Once the soup begins to boil add the turnips, kale and drop in 20 meatballs. Bring back to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serve with a hunk of whole grain bread.

Mediterranean Kale

Our family is relatively new to greens; collard, kale, mustard. Neither I, nor my husband, grew up eating the stuff. However, you can call us converts now.

Having researched the nutritional values of kale and other greens, I was amazed to learn that they are considered superfoods. Kale has very high amounts of vitamins K, A and C; it is a good source of manganese, fiber, calcium and many other vitamins and minerals; all with very low calories (36 per one cup serving). Added to this powerhouse of nutrition, kale as well as collards are known to prevent the occurrence of various forms of cancer, they aid in eye health and they have powerful anti-inflammatory properties. What is not to like about this food?

This summer, I have been buying bunches of kale from my local farmers market, of course organic or "better than organic" as some of my farmers say. Looking for creative recipes, I ran across one that sounded delicious in one of my new cookbooks, Eating Local. Looking through another coookbook my mother loaned me, Mediterranean: Food of the Sun, I realized that this type of recipe is traditional in Italy, Spain and many others. In Spain, it seems to be made with spinach. The traditional recipes also call for pine nuts, but as I didn't have any on hand, I did without.

Serves 4

2 Tbsp raisins, golden if you have them
1/4 cup hot water
1 1/2 lbs or a large bunch kale, any variety
3 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 large shallot, chopped
sea salt

Put raisins in a small bowl, add the hot water, and let soften 10-20 minutes-until plump.

Rinse kale well, removing all traces of dirt, bugs, weed seeds, etc. **Remember, organically produced food may not be the prettiest, but it is so much better for you.

Put a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat.

Remove and discard (in your compost) the tough center ribs from the kale. I do this by laying the kale on a cutting board, folding the leaf in half along the rib line, and slicing the rib clean off with a sharp knife.

Add kale to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and immediately run cold water over kale until it is cool. Drain and press or squeeze out excess water. Chop coarsely with a sharp knife.

Heat a large stainless steel pan over medium to medium high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until hot, about a minute. Add the garlic and shallot. Saute for about one minute, stirring with a wooden utensil. The shallot will be tender while the garlic will turn golden and slightly crisp. Add the kale and drained raisins. Cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes; until kale is coated in olive oil and the whole is hot throughout. Serve immediately.