This is a page from Alice Waters' cookbook "The Art of Simple Food." She is one of the foremost proponents of the "real food" movement. Consider this the ten commandments.
In trying to live in accordance with these commandments I recently started participating in what's called a CSA. It stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically there's a farm up the road from us and we pay them a certain amount of money and every week they deliver vegetables and meats to a pickup location near us. Every delivery is full of surprises, from beets to turnips, and it's kind of fun trying to come up with ways to eat these vegetables!! (after I figure out what they are, of course... which is sometimes entertaining in itself..."it's a turnip!... no, it's a radish!").
So this afternoon after I picked up my delivery and mulled over the question of how exactly to eat THAT MUCH kale, I turned to Alice Waters for support. Luckily her cookbook has an ingredient index in the back, so I turned straight to kale and found a little gem of a recipe. This one is truly delicious, and the whole family was asking for seconds, thirds, fourths..... George even told me when I took the lid off the soup that, "it really looks quite beautiful."
The best part is, the ONLY thing that wasn't from the farm was the chicken broth. So my fellow CSA friends, give it a try. DEEEELICIOUS!!
I'm typing it as is from the cookbook... I did the "variation" with the sausage from the CSA. SO SO GOOD.
Curly Kale and Potato Soup
Remove the tough stems from the leaves of
1 large bunch Kale
Wash, drain well, and coarsely chop.
Heat in a heavy soup pot:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil.
Add:
2 onions sliced thin
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, tender and slightly browned, about 12 minutes.
While the onions are cooking, peel, cut in half, and cut into 1/4 inch slices:
1 Pound Potatoes
When the onions are cooked, stir in:
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Cook the garlic for a couple minutes, then add the potatoes and chopped kale. Stir, then add:
a large pinch of salt
Cookfor 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in:
6 cups chicken broth
Raise the heat, bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the kale and potatoes are tender. Taste the soup and add more salt if necessary. Serve hot and garnish each serving with:
Extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan or other hard cheese, freshly grated.
Variations:
-Slice 1 pound linquica, chorizo, or a spicy garlic sausage. Brown in the oil before adding the onions, remove when brown. Add to the soup with the kale.
-garnish with croutons. cut bread into 1/2 inch cubes, toss with olive oil and salt and bake until golden brown in a 350 oven, about 12 minutes.
-add 1 1/2 cups cooked white beans 10 minutes before soup is finished.
ENJOY!!!
