Potato Kale Soup
Who makes soups during the summer? Do you?
When you think about it, soup is a terrific meal in any season, including the hot days of summer. Enabling lots of liquid hydration and countless varieties of flavor, soup also packs plenty of nutrition into a small bowl even when appetites tend to lessen and meals are enjoyed at a bit later hour into the day.
It might seem like soup is also a lot of work but the operative word here, such as for today’s Potato Kale Soup is, simmer. An easy prep with limited ingredients, plopped onto the range on very, very, low temperature allows plenty of time in the interim for other more stimulating summer activities. How much time for other activities you might inquire?
Well, for one, enough time to see the first half of the World Cup Argentina-Switzerland match before going out to the garden, picking some fresh kale, washing it, chopping it, and tossing it into the simmering pot of leeks, garlic, thyme, and potatoes then getting back to the screen to watch the second half before it even resumed. That’s easy enough, right?
Preparing at least one soup a week also makes things easier in the kitchen when schedules might dictate family members eating meals at different times of the day, only requiring a ladle to scoop a lovely combination of ingredients right from the pot and into a bowl whenever anyone wants to eat. (This also reduces the number of dishes to be washed.)
A summer soup pot can be as easy as you like and it’s also a great way to use up any bumper crop of fresh greens growing in your own garden and highlighting flavors using a bit of fresh herbs. While I simmered the kale for a long time you can easily cut back the time if you prefer the still bright green just cooked style.
Since this is a very simple rustic style soup, feel free to jazz it up with some chopped chicken or pork in the early simmering and serve alongside a crusty loaf with butter.
Today’s soup provided enough time to watch the World Cup USA vs. Belgium match. Sadly, the game outcome was not what I had been cheering for, but an easy, healthy meal such as Potato Kale Soup, enabling plenty of leisurely time to watch the series this summer is. Soup is always a winner.
Potato Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2-3 leeks, white part thinly sliced, cleaned well
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed from stem, chopped (optional)
- 7-8 red potatoes, cut into around one and a half inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 pinches ground nutmeg
- 6-7 cups chicken broth
- 12 kale leaves, approximately, sliced lengthwise, thick ribs removed, then chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more
- 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- For more body and added flavor add in some chopped chicken or pork pieces early on in the simmer
Instructions
- Into a large soup pot melt the butter then add in the sliced leeks and the thyme. Cooking on very low heat for about ten minutes, until softened
- Tumble in the potato cubes, stir
- Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes, stir, then add the nutmeg, stirring again
- Pour in 6 cups of chicken broth and keeping the burner on very, very low heat, simmer the soup for about an hour until potatoes have softened
- Scrape in the fresh chopped kale, stir well. Leave soup to simmer for fifteen minutes or longer
- Add in an additional cup of chicken broth if desired, simmer until hot
- Sprinkle in salt and pepper, check seasoning, adjust to taste
- Ladle soup hot into bowls served alongside a crusty bread
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