French Onion Meatball Soup by Maria Emmerich

Maria Emmerich is a wellness expert in nutrition and exercise physiology who shares a passion for helping others reach their goals of optimal health. 

She recognized that modifying the Ketogentic diet around dietary restrictions can be challenging, so she created this book to meet the need! She includes many delicious recipes that can be enjoyed by those with or without dietary restrictions!

Here's one of Maria Emmerich's recipe from her new book  "Easy Dairy-Free Ketogenic Recipes."

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil or lard 1⁄4 cup chopped onions

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 pounds ground beef

• 2 tablespoons beef bone broth, homemade (page 106) or store- bought

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves 1 large egg

For the Soup:

• 3 tablespoons avocado oil or lard

• 2 cups thinly sliced onions

• 4 cups beef bone broth, homemade (page 106) or store- bought

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves Fine sea salt

• For Garnish:

• Fresh thyme leaves

• Freshly ground black pepper

Prep time: 8 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Make the meatballs: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and season with the salt; sauté until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a small bowl and set aside to cool.

3. Combine the ground beef, broth, thyme, and egg in a large bowl. When the onion mixture is no longer hot to the touch, add it to the bowl with the meat mixture and work everything together with your hands.

4. Shape the meat mixture into 1 1⁄4-inch balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

5. Meanwhile, make the soup: Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often, until golden brown. Add the broth and thyme and boil for 10 minutes or until the onions are very soft. Taste and add salt, if desired. Ladle the onion broth into bowls and add the meatballs. Garnish with fresh thyme and freshly ground pepper.

6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to a month. To reheat, place the soup in a saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes, until warmed through.

Nutritional info (per serving):
Calories 385
Fat 31g
Protein 22g
Carbs 5g
Ber 1g

Found This Interesting?

Maria Emmerich is a wellness expert in nutrition and exercise physiology. She shares a passion for helping others reach their goals of optimal health. 

She struggled with her weight throughout childhood and decided enough was enough. She decided to study health and wellness so she could help others stop wasting their time being discouraged with their outward appearance and not feeling their best mentally. Maria understands the connection between food and how it makes us all feel on the inside and out.

She is a International Best Selling author of several books including “Quick and Easy Ketogenic Cooking” "Keto" and “The 30 Day Ketogenic Cleanse“. 
 

Recipe: Yucatán-style Lime Soup (sopa de lima)

This recipe is courtesy of Jenny McGruther of the Nourished Kitchen. This recipe can be found in her new book, Broth and Stock, which is available now at Amazon or other online retailers.

"On a visit to Mexico’s Yucatàn Peninsula, a place that offers a unique, lively cuisine steeped in both Mayan and Spanish culinary influence, my family climbed the vine-draped limestone ruins at Cobá, before our guide drove us along the winding orange-redroads through the jungle. We reached a cenote, a deep, naturally occurring limestone well filled with clean fresh water, where we swam until tired and worn. Now hungry from climbing and swimming, we headed to a small restaurant along the lake at Cobá, where they served traditional Yucatecan cooking, among the dishes they offered was a classic lime soup. Nearly every restaurant along the Yucatán Peninsula offers its own perfect version of lime soup, some with bell peppers and others touched with cinnamon and oregano. I favor the simplest approach with chicken, onion, rice, and limes. Simple foods often make the best foods, as their humble ingredients shine through without pomp or pretense."
 

Recipe

• Lard or coconut oil, for frying

• 1 (8-ounce) package corn tortillas, sliced into 1⁄4 by 1-inch strips

• 1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds

• 1 white onion, thinly sliced

• 1 cup long-grain white rice

• 3 limes

• Jalapeños, for garnish

• Cotija cheese, for garnish

• Avocado slices, for garnish

• Cilantro sprigs, for garnish

Line a plate with a paper towel or a cotton kitchen towel.
Set a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Spoon enough lard into the skillet so that when it melts, it reaches about 1⁄2 inch up the side of the skillet, about 11⁄2 cups.

Once the fat melts completely and begins to shimmer in the skillet, test the oil by dropping a tortilla strip into the hot fat. If the tortilla sizzles immediately in the pan, crisping and turning a golden brown within about 30 seconds, the oil is ready. Working in batches, and taking care not to crowd the pan, fry the tortilla strips until crisp and golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tortilla strips to the lined plate, and allow them to cool. Turn off the heat.

Place the whole chicken in a large stock pot. Pour enough water into the pot to cover the chicken by 2 inches. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and the meat shreds easily with a fork. Turn off the heat.

Carefully remove the chicken from the pot, setting it on a platter to allow it to cool until it’s comfortable enough to handle.Remove and discard the skin, pull the meat from the bone, and shred it with a fork.

Strain the broth in the pot through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher or jar, discarding the solids. Wipe out the pot to remove any stray debris, and then return the strained broth and reserved chicken meat to the pot. Stir in the onion and rice and then bring to a simmer over medium heat. While the soup warms, juice one of the limes and then stir the juice into the soup pot. Continue cooking until the onion is soft and translucent and the chicken is warmed. While soup is cooking, finely chop the remaining 2 limes, peel and all.

Ladle into soup bowls and serve with the chopped lime, sliced jalapeño, crumbled Cotija cheese, sliced avocado, and tortillastrips.  Serves 8.

Reprinted with permission from Broth & Stock from the Nourished Kitchen, written and photographed by Jennifer McGruther, 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.