Kale & Potato Soup

mycookinghut October 19, 2013

The weather hasn’t been great – it’s been grey, windy and rainy. The temperature has dropped and the day gets shorter. Looks like soup will be on my menu quite frequent now.

A while back, I used kale a lot. I really love using it in soup as it has that bitter sweet flavour that is pretty addictive. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals. Kale is a member of the cabbage family. There are 2 varities – smooth and curly kale. Curly kale is the one that I usually get as it is the most comment. The leaves are green, sometimes tinged with blue or purple, and their flavour is strong and distinct.

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Great friend of all leafy vegetables must be potatoes. They make things taste creamier and smoother. Just like this soup that I made. I love how kale and potatoes, just these two vegetables used in making this easy and simple soup – a comfort food. Chopped kale that is added to the pureed soup gives it a bit more dimension and texture. For vegetarians, you can just stop it there. For non-vegetarians, you could add some crunchy pancetta. It makes the soup tastes even better!

The best thing to do on a Saturday night for me is to serve a big bowl of this kale & potato soup with a few pieces of rustic french bread. I would eat just this for dinner and I’m sure I will be warmed up real quick!

Have a great weekend all!

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Kale & Potato Soup

Yield:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 onion, shopped
350g potatoes, cubed
a few sprigs of thyme leaves
1 bay leave
1.5 litres vegetable stock
100g curly kale, roughly chopped
80g pancetta
salt and pepper

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and onion, then cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the potatoes, thyme leaves and bay leave and cook for about 2 minutes. Pour in the stock and add half of the kaye. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cover. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through.

2. Remove the soup from the heat, remove the bay leave. Using a blender or stick blender, thoroughly process until the soup becomes smooth. Return to the pan and stir in the chopped kale. Bring back to the boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, heat a pan over a high heat. Add the pancetta and cook for a minute to crisp up. Sprinkle over the soup, serve with some crusty bread.