Smoky Potato and Kale Soup
How do you spell that word - smoky? Smokey? Spell check is not helping me out.
One thing I wanted to talk about when I started this blog is how to I handle cooking for a relationship where one party eats WAY MORE than the other. One way I balance this is by not eating the same breakfast/lunch as my fiancé all the time. He tends to eat big and heavy lunches that would put me to sleep if I ate them. Personally, I even try to avoid meat until dinner but I can write a separate post on that. One of my favorite things I make for my lunches is a soup with a lot of flavor that can hold me over, especially during Chicago winters.
My latest adventure into a delicious hearty soup was Half Baked Harvest’s Smokey Potato and Kale Soup (recipe here). I love love LOVE her recipes because she gives you every different way you can cook them. I chose the crockpot version because I love when my house smells like ALL the good flavors.
Things I loved about this recipe: You could make it healthier by easily making it vegan. You can use coconut milk and cashew cheese (or get rid of the cheese completely). Or you can make it as hearty as you want by using heavy cream, chorizo, and a firm cheese like manchego or parm. I personally did a hybrid using vegan chorizo from Imperfect Produce and heavy cream that I already had left over from a pasta I made.
My review: This recipe was everything I was looking for. Mine turned out too lemony because I use a juicer when I cook - but it yielded probably way more than intended. Below is exactly what I did.
Smoky Potato and Kale Soup
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 package (10 oz) No Evil chorizo
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1.5 lb bag fingerling potatoes, chopped
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
juice of 1 lemon
kosher salt and black pepper
4-6 cups Tuscan or curly kale, roughly chopped
1/4 cup whole milk, heavy cream, or canned coconut milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
fresh oregano, for serving (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a pan over the stove. Add the chorizo and onions. Cook until the onions become soft. If using regular (non-vegan) chorizo, cook until browned.
Add the garlic, paprika, and cayenne and cook until you begin to smell the garlic (about 1-2 minutes).
Transfer everything to crockpot. Toss in chopped potatoes and coat.
Add the broth and lemon juice to your crockpot. If you don’t want it to turn out lemony like mine, you can add another cup or two of broth. If you’re running out of crockpot space (like I did) you can half the lemon juice. Cook on high in the crockpot for 4-5 hours.
During the last 30 minutes, remove and mash half of the potatoes. Add them back with the kale, milk, cheese for the last 30 minutes.
Enjoy!
