Although the summer is long gone and our farmer's market is just a wonderful memory, we are still able to enjoy local and fresh produce through our neighborhood Winter Basket program. One of the vendors from our market sets up shop every Sunday morning at a nearby restaurant parking lot and offers a good variety of vegetables, farm fresh eggs, and usually some wild boar or pork. While we do enjoy the selection, it can become rather repetitive each week. We end up with a lot of carrots, potatoes, and kale, and so planning my weekly menu can be a bit of challenge. Time to get creative!
Luckily that's what the internet is for. When I found myself with an awful lot of kale one week, it was my goal to make a couple of different dishes. By picking up a few extra ingredients, kale turned out to be quite versatile. The first recipe I tried was a Kale and Chorizo soup.
This is a great recipe that cooks all day in the slow cooker and freezes well. Once cooled, it will also keep in the fridge for several days so you can pull it out for a quick weeknight meal. The chorizo adds a nice spice and meaty texture to the soup, and the kale is not overpowering once cooked. Plus, it made use of the potatoes we got in the basket, too!
The original recipe called for dry-cured chorizo sausage, but I substituted an uncooked sausage instead and removed the casing to cook it before adding it to the slow cooker. This meant the meat was smaller and distributed throughout the soup, so if you prefer meatier chunks, go with the cured version.
INGREDIENTS
2 chorizo sausages, casing removed
1 spanish onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lb (454 g) potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp (5 mL) sweet paprika
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
4 cups (1 L) water
4 cups (1 L) sodium-reduced chicken broth
1 bunch kale, trimmed and shredded
DIRECTIONS
In skillet over medium-high heat, brown chorizo. Transfer to slow cooker. Drain any fat from pan (do not wipe clean)
In same skillet, cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, until softened and light golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
Add potatoes, bay leaves, paprika, salt and pepper to slow cooker; stir in water and broth. Cover and cook on low until potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 hours.
Discard bay leaves. If using cured chorizo, using a slotted spoon, remove as much chorizo as possible to bowl; set aside.
Add kale to slow cooker; cover and cook on high until tender, about 10 minutes. Using immersion blender, purée soup until almost smooth with a few chunks. Stir in reserved chorizo.
2 chorizo sausages, casing removed
1 spanish onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lb (454 g) potatoes, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp (5 mL) sweet paprika
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
4 cups (1 L) water
4 cups (1 L) sodium-reduced chicken broth
1 bunch kale, trimmed and shredded
DIRECTIONS
In skillet over medium-high heat, brown chorizo. Transfer to slow cooker. Drain any fat from pan (do not wipe clean)
In same skillet, cook onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, over medium heat, until softened and light golden, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
Add potatoes, bay leaves, paprika, salt and pepper to slow cooker; stir in water and broth. Cover and cook on low until potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 hours.
Discard bay leaves. If using cured chorizo, using a slotted spoon, remove as much chorizo as possible to bowl; set aside.
Add kale to slow cooker; cover and cook on high until tender, about 10 minutes. Using immersion blender, purée soup until almost smooth with a few chunks. Stir in reserved chorizo.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I always welcome comments! Please feel free to share...