ITALIAN EGG DROP SOUP WITH KALE AND MEATBALLS

ITALIAN EGG DROP SOUP WITH KALE AND MEATBALLS
Meatballs:
1 pound ground turkey, 85% lean
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Soup:
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, finely chopped, 2 1/2 ounces
1 clove garlic, minced
6-8 cups chicken broth (see my comments below)
1 bunch fresh kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped, about 6 ounces trimmed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl, blend the meatball ingredients well. Meanwhile, in a large pot, saut?the onion in hot oil until tender and slightly browned. Add the garlic and cook about a minute or until fragrant but not brown. Add the broth; bring to a boil. Gently drop about 1-inch balls of the meatball mixture into the broth. The mixture will be very soft so they won't be perfectly round. Return the soup to a boil then turn the heat down and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add the kale. Bring the soup back to a simmer then slowly drizzle in the beaten eggs while stirring. Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.

Makes about 4 servings
Freezing not recommended

Per Serving: 535 Calories; 34g Fat; 45g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 7g Net Carbs

This is based on a recipe from Rachael Ray's magazine. I left out the bread crumbs in the meatballs and used kale instead of escarole plus a few other changes. The soup tastes pretty good but not outstanding. I think that the meatballs look a little pale and the soup looks a bit messy from all of the egg and cheese. The original recipe called for 6 cups of broth but I think it could use about 8 cups. There didn't seem to be enough broth to go around. I don't think that I'd make this again.

This was my first time trying kale. Although I like the texture of it, it really has no flavor. I also found out that it has very little fiber, which surprised me. I would have thought that it would have at least as much as spinach. For comparison, below are the counts for 1/2 pound of kale and 1/2 pound of fresh spinach. I can only surmise that spinach contains a lot more water than kale. I don't think that kale is worth its high carb count.

8 ounces fresh kale: 113 Calories; 2g Fat; 7g Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 18g Net Carbs
8 ounces fresh spinach: 52 Calories; 1g Fat; 6g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 3g Net Carbs

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