The Reluctant Chef » Kale

Thai Squash and Kale Soup

Kimberly Payne — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:02:30 +0000

I am a huge fan of all things thai so when I came across this soup I was instantly intrigued. I loved the combination of coconut milk, curry paste and butternut squash.

There were a few changes and substitutions I made but overall kept with the theme of the soup. I am not a huge fan of cooked spinach so I decided so substitute my favourite green leafy vegetable, kale. I also left out the chicken since we had already had so many chicken dishes this week. Finally, I used fresh butternut squash instead of puree.

The end result was a sweet thick soup that went well with crusty bread. If you don’t wan’t it as sweet I would cut down on the amount of brown sugar you use because the coconut milk is already a little sweet.

The best part is that I had it for lunch a couple days later and it was still just a good. The kale really stood up well being in the soup for a few days and kept a bit of it’s crunch.

Thai Squash and Kale Soup

Adapted from This Week for Dinner

2 cups chunked fresh butternut squash

14 ounce can coconut milk

1/2 cup water

2 cups chopped kale

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon thai red curry paste (depending on level of spiciness)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Put all the ingredient in a pot besides kale and cook until squash is tender. Use immersion blender to puree the squash until soup is smooth. Add chopped kale and cook for 5 minutes until slightly tender.

Dijon Potato Soup

Kimberly Payne — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:50:52 +0000

It was one of those nights that completely justified having a warm soup for dinner. Plus it is really that time of year when you could have soup every night and never get tired of it. Soup is such a comforting thing food, and I figure why not take a recipe of a soup that I absolutely love and change it up a bit. No reason to have the same soup again when you can try something new.

This soup is a remake of my Kale Potato Soup with the new addition of some dijon mustard. I really do like the original recipe but I thought it might be nice with the spiciness of dijon mustard in the broth. It was a nice subtle hint of mustard that complimented the potatoes, sausage and kale.

With a great piece of crusty bread this soup was complete and just what the cold and raining evening called for.

Dijon Potato Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups finely chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 pounds cubed potatoes

4 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 cup half and half

1/4 cup dijon mustard (to taste)

4 ounces Romano cheese

6 ounces hot italian sausage

2 cups chopped kale

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups onion, saute 4 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in potatoes, 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper, saute 2 minutes. Add broth and mustard and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender; stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add remaining 1/2 cup onion; saute for 6 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt and sausage; cook 8 minutes or until browned.

Add half and half and kale to soup and cook for 4 minutes or until kale is softened. Stir in sausage and heat soup thoroughly.

Kale Potato Soup

Kimberly Payne — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:31:03 +0000

On a cold and rainy night there is really nothing better than a warm bowl of soup. And sometimes a warm bowl of soup just sounds good so who cares if it isn’t cold and rainy.

This recipe came about from being a bit lazy and not wanting to do all the steps the cooking light recipe called for. What should have been a creamy potato soup with a kale oil on top became a hearty potato and kale soup. I have to say the end result was quite yummy.

Kale has become a favorite ingredient for me, it just adds something to the dishes you put it in. I credit my friend Rachel for introducing me to this wonderful ingredient. I remember I was in her kitchen while she was visiting for Christmas last year and she was making me dinner. Rachel is a wonderful cook and so I knew it was going to be a great vegetarian meal, little did I know she was going to introduce me to this amazing ingredient.

I have to take a minute and explain to you the friendship Rachel and I have had over the last 5 years. Rachel described our friendship perfectly this morning in an email “I am so glad that the universe saw fit to bring us together with our matching backpacks to spend a year in Egypt where we could build a life long friendship.”

While living in Egypt Rachel was my cook, you see we had this sort of agreement, I would provide ingredients and she would make them into a meal. It worked very well for us because I was not a fan of anything that had to do with the kitchen and she enjoyed creating things, especially some truly amazing cinnamon rolls.

Over the years she has seen me slowly change my opinions on cooking and has been there to support me as I grow in my skills. So thank you to Rachel for showing me how amazing kale is and being such a great friend.

Kale Potato Soup

Adapted from Cooking Light

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups finely chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/4 pounds cubed peeled potatoes

4 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 cup half and half

4 ounces Romano cheese

6 ounces hot italian sausage

2 cups chopped kale

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1 1/2 cups onion, saute 4 minutes stirring frequently. Stir in peppers, 1/8 teaspoon salt and potato, saute 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender; stirring occasionally.

Add half and half and kale to soup and cook for 4 minutes or until kale is softened. Stir in sausage and heat soup thoroughly.