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Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach

January 19, 2022 by Mary 2 Comments

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup - served in a bowl.

I have been having a love affair with coconut milk and Thai food recently. It’s something different to make at home and I also love the usual refreshing lime squeezed on for the finishing touch. So this recipe of Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach is the perfect comfort food during these cold dark days of winter. I made this recipe last night, loosely based on the New York Times version and ate it in front of a blazing fire to calm my frazzled nerves from all of the Washington DC news of late. It worked and was so super yummy, I wanted to share it with you all right away.

This Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach recipe should feed three people with one pound of chicken. I also added a sauteed Portobello mushroom, which I know is not very Thai-like, but this mushroom in my fridge was begging to be used and I thought it was a nice combo with the spinach. Serve this soupy dish with a packed little cup of steamed Jasmine rice and ascend to heaven.

How to stretch meat to feed more people

Another deviation of mine from the New York Times version is the addition of a little Panko to the meatball mixture. It’s a trick from my mom – panko or breadcrumbs – to make them lighter and to stretch the meat a little more in her case. Remember, she was always feeding six kids, along with sometimes some stray neighborhood friends as well. If you are using 2 lbs of chicken, you could also add a raw egg for more stretchability.

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup - in skillet with spinach added.

On to the recipe, and do not forget to add your LOVE while making. We all especially need a lot more love in this world right now, with Covid, climate change, voting rights (did you know the Republicans enacted all the mail-in ballot voting rules that Trump so objected to? I just found that out tonight.)

I have never talked politics on this blog before, but the insanely false “news” told not by journalists but by the entertainers on Fox and OAN are hitting a crescendo that must be dealt with and needs to be corrected with truth – only truth. And perhaps that can happen over a warm comforting bowl of this Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach.

I have always believed that food could bring us together. Conversations over a soothing bowl of soup – who can fight over that warmth?

Let’s make it and pray.

THAI-INSPIRED CHICKEN MEATBALL SOUP with SPINACH – serves 3

1 (4-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1/2 jalapeño, split lengthwise, finely minced with seeds and membrane
1 lb. ground chicken
½ large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves reserved for serving
2.5 Tbs. fish sauce, divided
1.5 Tbs. panko
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 – 2 Tbs. canola oil
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup (8 oz.) full-fat coconut milk
¼  tsp. granulated sugar
1 large Portobello mushroom, sliced and sauteed with 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tbs. unsalted butter – Optional
2.5 oz. baby spinach
1 Tbs. lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
Steamed white or brown rice, for serving

Process

Finely mince the ginger, garlic and jalapeno together. Transfer half of this mixture to a large bowl and set the rest aside. To the large bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped cilantro, 1.5 Tbs. fish sauce, 1/2 tsp salt and 1.5 Tbs. panko. Use your hands or a fork to fully combine but do not overmix.

Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form 2-inch meatballs. In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat 1 Tbs. Canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning them around every 2 – 3 minutes to brown most sides until golden brown for a total of 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

Once all the meatballs are browned and out of the pot, if the oil is burned, wipe it out and add a bit more to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the reserved ginger, garlic jalapeno minced mixture and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, sugar and the remaining 1 Tbs. fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any juices from the plate, and simmer until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, heat the EVOO and butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When the butter stops sizzling, add the sliced Portobello mushrooms in a single layer and do not touch them for about 7 minutes. Turn them over for another 4 minutes or so and then add them to the soup.

Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the spinach and lime juice. Divide rice among bowls, then top with meatballs, broth and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and LOVE.

Enjoy!!

Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Meat Tagged With: chicken, coconut milk, cold weather dinner, easy, meatballs, soup, spinach

The BEST Meatballs

March 6, 2016 by Mary 32 Comments

Meatballs made with veal & lamb in a rich tomato sauce topped with ricotta cheese in a glass bowl.

I made 52 meatballs last Sunday. 52!!! I thought we’d be eating them forever. And I couldn’t freeze them again – I was working with meat that had been frozen, so that wouldn’t have been right.

And then both boys were home, with their girls. I served 10 as an appetizer for a special birthday dinner with 5 of us. OMG – everyone LOVED them!!

Everyone spent the night. The next morning, one boy had 6 or 8 for breakfast and one girl took some amount for lunch. And then I kept trying to sell them – take more for your dinner – you know – I have so many – we’ll never eat all of these…

So now it was Wednesday and this was our dinner for just the two of us. I opened the pot — ooops. Not many left. I have four and my husband has six for dinner and there are just 9 left!

This is a really good recipe. They really are THE BEST meatballs.

It is based on a recipe by Seamus Mullin of Tertulio, an award-winning restaurant here in NYC that has fond memories for me. Several years ago, as one of my Christmas presents, my two boys took me there for dinner and said I could ask them ANYTHING I wanted. That was their gift.

Isn’t that so cool? So cute!!!

I did not abuse it then. I didn’t ask anything untoward. Nothing outrageous. I was a bit nosey but respectful.

But then afterwards, sometimes I’d forget. I thought we were in the same mode and they’d say, “un uh – no, no – time’s up. We’re not there anymore. You can’t ask that.”

They are so cute.

Back to the meatball recipe. This was published in Food & Wine some years ago and I just recently discovered it and of course, as usual, I have changed it. And oh by the way, the recipe says it takes an hour and a half. Don’t kid yourself. Plan on more like three hours. By the time you wash and chop all the herbs and make and fry the meatballs, then make the sauce – it’s a long time.

But boy, these are really, really good.

My French bookkeeper at the office once told me that her grandmother always mixed a little veal into things to make them sing. So here Seamus calls for 2.5 lbs. of ground lamb. I made these with 2 lbs. of lamb and 1 lb. of veal, bumped up all the herbs and used heavy cream with a touch of water, instead of milk to soak the almonds in.

Try these. You will be so super satisfied when you hear the deep sighs and murmurs of delight while watching your crew devour them.

You will never feel more LOVED. Promise.

A rich red sauce for herbed meatballs in a Le Creuset pot.

THE BEST MEATBALLS WITH RICH TOMATO SAUCE AND RICOTTA – serves 8 – adapted from a Chef Seamus Mullin recipe

FOR THE SAUCE:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup lightly packed basil leaves, torn
2 heaping Tbs. fresh oregano leaves
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
Two 28-ounce cans whole Italian tomatoes with their juices, crushed
6 large anchovy fillets, chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

FOR THE MEATBALLS: – makes 52 meatballs
1/2 cup raw almonds, finely chopped in a food processer
6 Tbs. heavy cream + 2 Tbs. water or 1/2 cup whole milk
2 lb. ground lamb
1 lb. ground veal
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped basil leaves, packed, plus whole leaves for garnish
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, packed
2 heaping Tbs. finely chopped mint
1 heaping Tbs. finely chopped oregano
2 tsp. finely chopped thyme
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. dry red wine (or white wine)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 3/4 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 tsp. ground fennel
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Ricotta cheese, for serving
Extra olive oil for serving

MAKE THE SAUCE:
In a large heavy enameled pot – such as a Le Creuset – heat the oil until shimmering. Add the garlic, basil, oregano, bay leaves and red pepper and cook over moderately high heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and simmer over moderately low heat, stirring, until the tomatoes are saucy, 1 hour. Stir in the anchovies and season with salt and black pepper.

Lamb and veal meatballs with lots of herbs, frying in a skillet.

MAKE THE MEATBALLS:
In a bowl, cover the almonds with the heavy cream and water or whole milk and let stand until most of the milk has been absorbed, 30 minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the whole basil leaves, olive oil and ricotta and mix well. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

In a skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Working in batches, cook the meatballs over moderately high heat, turning, until nearly cooked through, 7 minutes per batch. Drain the meatballs on paper toweling on a platter.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer until cooked through, 8 minutes. Spoon into bowls, top with ricotta and a drizzle of olive oil on the ricotta. You can also add some basil leaves as garnish.

The meatballs can be refrigerated in the sauce overnight. Warm in a covered ovenproof dish at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Serve with LOVE and toasted bread, and you’ll be in heaven!!

Filed Under: Dinner, Meat Tagged With: best meatballs, best red sauce, herbed lamb and veal meatballs, lamb and veal meatballs, meatballs

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Mary Frances

Mary Frances

Spread love through cooking.

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