I picked the last bunch of kale from the garden the other day, and while the previous harvests have gone straight to the freezer, I knew I wanted to use this last bit in a soup or stew of some kind. I’ve never had kale, but I had high hopes after discovering how much I enjoy rainbow chard this summer. I turned to Cooking Light for a recipe, because I know I’ve seen dozens of kale recipes throughout the years, and one of them was bound to call my name. The soup I chose was Sausage, Kale and Bean Soup from December of 2003. I’m linking to the recipe on CL’s website because while it was my inspiration, my creation ended up being far different than it’s original intention. I began adapting right off the bat because this dinner was not on my menu plan for the week- it was a deviation. And as a deviation, I’ve set ground rules for myself that if I’m going to stray from my planned and shopped for menu plan, my new choice for dinner must use only on-hand ingredients. No trips to the store at all to subsidize. So I turned to my fridge, freezer and pantry for inspiration.
My first change came about with the called-for Cajun sausage. I didn’t have any, nor did I intend to get any. However, I did have half a pound of natural smoked sausage on hand, and I thought that would do. As I pulled out the sausage, I saw a half pound of ground turkey that I’d pulled out to thaw the day before and ended up not using- so that had to be used somehow. I browned up the turkey and then added the sausage, which I’d cut into bite size chunks. As that cooked up, I went and pulled three leeks from the garden and sliced them up, along with a stalk of celery. Out of the crisper drawer I snagged four rainbow carrots that I’d also picked the other day, and diced those up as well. When I went to the pantry for tomatoes, I was delighted to discover that I had stewed tomatoes- so I added those instead of plain diced, I love the flavor of stewed tomatoes. Next, I added stock. I had fresh chicken stock that I’d made over the weekend, and total I think I added about six cups.
Oops, I forgot to tell you about the beans. Before anything else was even thought of, I knew I was going to have beans in my soup with my kale, and since the only canned beans I had on hand were black ones… I cooked up 1/2 cup of dried small navy beans. I put them in a pot with cold water that covered by 2 inches, and brought it to a boil on the stove. Once it boiled, I reduced the heat to low, covered, and then simmered for about 90 minutes before I had perfectly cooked beans. Those went into my soup pot the same time as the chicken stock and tomatoes.
My final ingredients were salt, pepper and dried basil, and then it was time for the kale. I ended up with only about 4 cups total once chopped, and the tough center rib removed from each leaf. It was enough. I didn’t want to scare the kids with the kale, but I did want them to try it. At the dinner table, I added grated Parmesan cheese to the individual bowls. In hindsight, this would have been an excellent use for a Parmesan rind, had I had one of course.
The soup was fantastic! It was quick, easy, and delicious. I’m really looking forward to leftovers for lunch today. I liked the kale as well. I didn’t think it added near as much flavor as I was expecting, and reminded me a lot of plain old cabbage. In fact, that’s what I told the kids, was not to be afraid of the dark green leaves in the soup, it tastes just like cabbage. Abigail ate quite a bit of her bowl of soup, although Zander lost interest once his bread was gone for dunking. I am not afraid of kale anymore, although I don’t think I’ll be buying it anytime soon. The stuff at the grocery store looks terrible compared to what I can get from my garden! Raw, the kale was a bit harsh- like a peppery broccoli more than anything, but once cooked the bite was gone, and it was a real pleasure to eat. It didn’t get slimy at all in the soup and added a great texture to each spoonful that harbored a few leaves of kale.
Rainbow Chard and Kale are now on my approved list. Next year, perhaps we’ll tackle some Collards.