Castellon's Kitchen: Salisbury Meatballs with Kale and Balsamic Butter Sauce

These days, you see recipes for kale everywhere. You can't look at Pinterest without seeing kale, quinoa or chia in some new and delicious recipe. They are the trifecta of food popularity. I love quinoa and kale, there's a reason food becomes popular, because they are so yummy. Believe it or not, I haven't yet tried chia seeds. Not sure why I haven't. Maybe it's because I only see chia being added to yogurt and smoothies and stuff like that and I don't really eat yogurt or drink smoothies or protein drinks. Yucky. I guess you can say I'm still looking for a chia recipe that interests me. Anyway...

I do love Kale, but I must admit I am not all that fond of kale when it is in salads all by itself. An entire salad of just Kale is practically inedible. It definitely needs to have another green to tone down the roughage factor. It's tough, hearty and floral tasting but I find it can end up tasting bitter if not mixed with the right salad toppings. I personally think Kale tastes best when paired with something sweet like fruit like in my Kale Salad with Strawberry Mango Salsa.

I also think Kale is BEST when cooked. Saute, braise, roast into chips, and throw it into soups, all super yummy!
If you like greens or fried cabbage this is the veggie for you. The idea of braising it with onions and topping it with a sweet and earthy balsamic butter sauce had been bouncing in my head for a while. I'd made it a few times as just a delicious side dish but I felt the heartiness of it needed to be its own meal. I decided to pair it with these yummy Salisbury meatballs and the dish was a home run. Enjoy!

Cool Product Alert!
My mom gave me this lightly dried parsley from Gourmet Garden and I used it in my meatballs and also to top the finished dish. I loved having this on hand because I don't always have fresh parsley in the fridge. This little tub has quite a bit in it and goes a long way. Convenient and pure genius!

Salisbury Meatballs with Braised Kale and Balsamic Butter Sauce

Serves 4

Salisbury Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
2 T Gourmet Garden Parsley, dried
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 T canola oil for frying

In a large bowl mix all ingredients together and roll into medium sized meatballs. Add oil to a large skillet and over medium high heat, brown all sides until cooked through. Remove from skillet and cover with aluminum foil and set aside.

Braised Kale and Onions
2 large bunches kale, roughly chopped (~10 cups)
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
pepper

In a large pot, add olive oil, onions and garlic and cook over high heat until translucent. About 5 minutes. Add chopped kale, chicken broth, wine and water and cover with a lid. Heat on high for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir kale. The kale should be wilted enough to be covered by the liquid at the bottom of the pot. Heat on medium heat, covered for about 15 minutes until Kale stems are nearly tender. Add about half of the balsamic butter to the greens and stir. Continue to heat uncovered for another 10-15 minutes to reduce liquid until the kale is cooked to desired tenderness.
Salt and pepper to taste. Note: Taste the kale before adding salt because the chicken broth when reduced adds salt so take care not to add too much.

Balsamic Butter Sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced to 3T
1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 T brown sugar
black pepper

Add vinegar into a small saucepan. On medium heat, heat vinegar until reduced to about 3 T. Turn off heat and add sugar and pepper and stir. Add butter and set aside until butter is melted.

Add about half of the balsamic butter to Braised Kale during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time and drizzle the remaining half over the Salisbury Meatballs before serving. Garnish with Parsley and enjoy!