Just trying out a recipe from another food blogger!

Thanh Rasico’s recent Italian Wedding Soup recipe post sent me into an immediate “I gotta make that” mode. It wasn’t a matter of “if” it would happen, but “when.” Well, that ended up being tonight.

I’m a big fan of Thanh’s blog, mainly because her recipes are simple, beautiful, and delicious. She also happens to be a big fan of two ingredients I just adore—ground pork and fish sauce. This soup recipe includes both.

Her Italian Wedding Soup is also at-home fusion coming at its finest, marrying Italian and Asian flavors into one perfect bowl of soup. I made just a few modifications to the recipe: substituting chicken stock for the broth (on Thanh’s suggestion) and baby kale for the more traditional mature kale. No real reason for the kale substitution, other than it looked good at the store. I will say I ended up enjoying the flatter, more tender baby kale leaf.

This turned out to be such an easy recipe to make. I ended up using a melon baller to form the meatballs; I then rolled them quickly in both hands before dropping the meatballs into the boiling broth. The chopped green onions and fish sauce helped make the meat so moist and flavorful. The kale and carrots provided the healthy elements to the dish…and the best part, the kids didn’t mind either ingredient.

Props to Thanh! This recipe is a winner.