Cream of Kale Soup

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










You can prepare the kale and the potatoes just for this recipe, but I admit that this is my way of making something fun out of leftovers when I have these goodies lurking in the fridge already. Don't tell anyone. Some of my friends use this soup approach to encourage kids to eat their kale!

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

3 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed, or a couple of chopped garlic scapes
1 bunch fresh kale, rinsed and coarsely chopped, stems separated from leaves
4 cups chicken stock
2-3 leftover boiled potatoes
1/2 tsp ground thyme
Salt and pepper
Sour cream to garnish (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat and saute the garlic and kale stems, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until the garlic begins to turn light brown. Add the kale leaves, turn heat to medium low, cover and cook, stirring, for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the leaves and stems are tender. The leaves will release water that will help cook the kale, but if necessary add a little more water to prevent leaves from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

While the kale is cooking, process the potatoes, the thyme, and the stock in a food processor equipped with a cutting blade.

When the kale is tender, process with the potatoes and stock. Add more stock if necessary. You might need to do this in batches depending on the size of your processor, to avoid painting the kitchen walls with kale-colored paint.

Pour soup into a saucepan for reheating, and distribute to serving plates, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper, and topping with sour cream.

Vegetarian alternative: use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. This recipe will also work with other greens.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes