Kale and Mini Buffalo Meatballs

Welcome to What’s Cooking Wednesday, hosted by Tales from the Fairy Blogmother. Be sure to check out the other recipes submitted for WCW.

I saw this recipe for Kale and Mini Meatballs in Rachael Ray Magazine recently, and was intrigued by the combination of garlic, red meat and kale in broth. It seemed like a novel way to get my dark greens in. I substituted ground buffalo for the lamb and beef and upped the greens to meatball ratio (I used almost an entire bunch of kale, which was larger than your average bunch of kale, which is why I still listed a bunch of kale in the recipe).

I liked it – I liked the garlicky broth, which was not too greased up since I cut back on the olive oil and used a very lean meat for my mini meatballs. I loved the mini meatballs too – though I love mini anything, so that should not be too suprising. That said, I could not help but think that this would really benefit from a crumbling of feta cheese which, when one cannot eat dairy for now, is kind of a bummer. I may try adding a smidge of miso to the garlic next time I make this, to get the umami flavor one would normally expect from cheese.

In a large bowl, combine the buffalo and oregano; season with salt and pepper. Shape into 1/2-inch meatballs. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon water and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent but not brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the meatballs, cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes. Stir in the kale, cover and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the meatballs and kale in shallow bowls with enough broth to moisten. A nice crusty bread would be a lovely addition, though I found the kale really soaked up the broth well.