Top | Soups

Potato-Kale Soup

(recipe, Carrie Floyd)


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Introduction

In my house, this is the soup everyone wants when craving comfort and/or nursing a cold; it has replaced the chicken-noodle soup of my youth. In Portugal the national soup, caldo verde, is a variation on potato soup with lots of greens and cured chorizo.

Ingredients

  1. Extra-virgin olive oil
  2. 1 small red or yellow onion, diced
  3. 5 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  4. Pinch of red chile flakes
  5. 1 lb. Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
  6. 6 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade
  7. 1 bay leaf
  8. 1 bunch kale, washed, stems discarded, leaves finely chopped
  9. Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

  1. Pour enough olive oil into a large soup pot to cover the bottom. Over medium heat cook the onion, garlic, and chile flakes for several minutes, until the onion begins to soften. Add the potatoes, broth, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Add the kale, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until the kale is tender and the potatoes are soft.
  2. Remove the bay leaf and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Note

If you use canned broth, be sure to taste the soup before adding salt. You can also purée, or partially purée, the soup once the vegetables are cooked. (I like it brothy and full of greens, but my daughter prefers the smoother texture that results from running the immersion blender through the pot.)


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