The BEST Kale Soup

It’s still really cold here in Southern New Hampshire. Every year as February comes to and end and March gets closer I kid myself into believing the warm weather is right around the corner. Truth is, we’ve got some time. Since it’s cold we might as well talk about soups.

Another truth is I love kale! But I don’t love how people try to jam it into things it doesn’t work with. Sure, kale is super healthy and good for you. It’s full of vitamins (mostly K) and while that’s all well and good is it too much to prepare it properly? Why are we cramming it into shakes and adding it to dishes for the sake of adding it?

To me ingredients need to be treated right. Kale included. One thing that I really enjoy about kale is its texture. We can honor that by going two different routes. One would be to crisp it by creating something like a kale chip and the other is to cook it down to create something tender, delicious, and satisfying. Let’s go with the second.

I’m not sure where I learned this recipe and I’ve rewritten it dozens of times. Feel free to do the same. In fact if you improve on it please reach out and let me know! This is a very basic soup that highlights kale not hides it. The kale lends itself perfectly to the other ingredients and they all play well together. You know, how soup is supposed to be. I’ll include some notes and options as well because…why not?

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KALE SOUP

Here’s what you’ll need:

1 pound of ground lean pork (I go for 90%)
1 onion, I like yellow
5 carrots, peeled
5 celery stalks, trimmed
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
32-40 ounces of chicken stock
5 ounce package of prewashed baby kale
A bit of oil
Salt & Pepper

Here’s what you do:

1. In a large saucepan brown the pork in that bit of oil over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes
2. Dice onion, carrots, and celery (I use a food processor here)
3. Add diced vegetable and garlic to pork and continue to cook down for 3-5 minutes
4. Add stock to pork and vegetables and cook until everything is tender - about 15 minutes
5. Add baby kale and cook about 5 more minutes
6. Check seasoning and add salt & pepper to taste
7. Enjoy!

Here are some notes:

•You can skip the pork and make this a veggie soup
•I have to admit that I often skip the celery. Can’t stand the stuff! My wife digs it so once in a while I throw it in.
•Adjust the amount of stock to your liking
•You can add some sliced potatoes or white beans to change things up. Just add them when you add the other veggies and increase your stock if desired
•You don’t have to use the prepackaged baby kale. I often just grab a bunch and chop it up myself. Increase your cooking time to make sure the kale is super tender and delicious