Kale and Orzo Soup with White Beanballs

This soup looks like an Italian Wedding soup to me. Can't say I've ever had one. An Italian Wedding Soup or an Italian wedding. 

Sometimes, I'm not even sure what I'm writing. But I will say that I always end up cracking myself up. I hope you can appreciate my zany humour, too.

This soup is so flavourful! The beanballs are just killer. I love me a good beanball, like these we made FOUR years ago! 

I just felt so healthy and satisfied after eating this soup. I was like "life is good." Do you ever feel that way after eating a meal?  If you haven't, try out this soup! You won't regret it ;)

Kale and Orzo Soup with White Beanballs

adapted from Shock Munch

Ingredients

For beanballs:

1 small onion, minced 

2 cans of white beans, like Navy or even Romano, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp vegetable seasoning

zest of 1 lemon

sprinkling of red pepper flakes

For soup:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, minced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 red pepper, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup dried orzo

9 cups veggie broth

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 bunch of kale, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet with oil.

Mash beans in a large bowl. You want them pretty much completely mashed but if parts of beans are still visible, no problem! Add the remaining beanball ingredients. Add a dash of water if the mixture seems dry.

Form golf ball-sized beanballs and place them on the baking sheet. Spritz or drizzle with oil. Bake the balls for 30 mins, flipping at the halfway mark.

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. When hot, add onion, carrots, celery and red pepper. Cook for 3-5 mins. Throw in the garlic and the orzo, stir about for 30 secs. Pour in the broth and let simmer for 15-20 mins. Add in the lemon juice and kale and turn off the heat.

When the beanballs are finished, remove from the oven and add some to each bowl. Ladle over the soup and enjoy!