08 December 2011


I recently cooked with a veggie I had never used before.  Kale.  I don't know why I had never used it before; I like leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard.  So when Grimmway Farms sent me a coupon for free produce, I thought it was high time to give kale a shot.  It's winter, so of course, my mind automatically went to soup.  Even though I had not had kale before, it just seemed like it would go well with beans and sausage.  Here's what I came up with.


White Bean, Sausage, and Kale Soup


Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
½ large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
2 cans white beans, one drained and rinsed, the other not
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
6 cups red kale, chopped


Directions:
Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and saute until onion begins to get soft.  Add sausage and break up into chunks.  Cook until sausage is  browned and cooked through.  Drain off grease.


Add beans, broth, and kale.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until kale is softened.


Makes 6 servings.

It worked really well.  I made this soup when my mom was visiting and she had never had kale before either.  She heard other people say that it was kind of bitter, so she was a tad skeptical.  But we were all pleasantly surprised that it wasn't bitter at all and had a lovely flavor.  Kale is much sturdier than spinach, and since my mom is not a fan of wilted spinach in soups, she liked it much better than if I had used spinach.  My husband loved it too and my 18 month old daughter gobbled it up!

I love having a wide variety of soups in my repertoire in the winter, so I am glad to have branched out and added a new veggie to the mix.  This is a nice, hearty soup for a cold winter day.


Kim at Everyday Mom chose to make this recipe when she was assigned my blog for the Secret Recipe Club in January 2013.  Click on the button below to check out her post!

Secret Recipe Club



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6 comments:

  1. This looks great. I love the combination of kale and sausage!

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  2. This is a wonderful soup - full of flavor and goodness. I just found your blog and im so glad I did - I've signed up to follow and looking forward to more :)
    Mary x

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  3. This looks so tasty Lesa! I love kale in soups. We make a chorizo, tomato, and kale soup during the winter at least twice a month because it's so good! Gonna have to switch it up and try this too =)

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  4. Welcome, Mary! Thanks for following and taking the time to comment.

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  5. That sounds good, Peggy. Now that I know I like kale, I can't wait to try more recipes with it.

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  6. I love this recipe! I make something similar with spinach, but kale sounds so good. I improvise mine whatever I have - sometimes I use chicken, I've used smoked sausage, added tomatoes -whatever. It's an easy week-night soup for sure. Thanks for posting!

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