Wednesday, October 2, 2013

National Kale Day: Kale Sausage Soup

Today is National Kale Day!  I looooooove kale, and drink it in my smoothie most mornings during the work week.  


I have a great, very easy recipe to share, but before that, here are some facts about kale that you may not know:

  •  kale is full of carotenoids which are linked to levels of optimism
  • kale grows late into winter, and becomes sweeter after a frost
  • one cup of raw kale contains 134% of your RDA for vitamin C, 684% for vitamin K, and 204% for vitamin A; and nearly 3 grams of protein (source)

For more facts and other information about kale, including recipes, head over to this site.

The other day we made a soup in honour of National Kale Day.  This soup is really easy to make, but it is so good - give it a try!  It doesn't take much prep, and it makes a large batch.


Kale Sausage Soup

2 T olive oil
450 g Italian sausage (hot or mild; if in casings still, squeeze it out)
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinced
1 liter chicken broth (we used organic)
1 liter water
1 bunch kale (or about 2 cups), stripped from stems, torn into bite sized pieces (*note - kale doesn't shrivel up when cooked like spinach does)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Heat the oil in a dutch oven.  Brown the sausage, breaking up a bit.  Once mostly brown, add the celery, carrot and onion.  Cook about 8 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook another few minutes.  Add the beans, broth and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 40 minutes or so.  Add the kale, salt and pepper and simmer 5 minutes more, then serve.


Did you eat kale today?

3 comments:

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

Yum! That looks awesome. I love soups so I am bookmarking this and will definitely be making it!

I have not eaten kale much. I actually have never bought it! But this recipe will inspire me to give it a try! I have had it in dishes when eating out, but the tough texture kind of bugs me. I think I would like the texture in a soup, though.

leahnoelle (http://apolausticsoul-leah.blogspot.ca/) said...

This looks so yummy! Can't wait to try it out!

Allysia said...

National Kale Day, how could I miss this? But I totally celebrated by accident, since I got to take home a giant bag of kale from work that day. :) We made something similar too, a kale and white bean soup with tons of garlic and lemon! I love sausage in soup, but for now that's not an option while we're all budget-minded. I bet seitan would be a decent sub though!