It seems the trendiness of Kale has finally gone done. You still kale being served in some restaurants and your favorite eateries but not as much as before which is kind of nice.
Sure, kale is good for you and blah blah blah, but it’s not that impressive of a vegetable. I am someone who would rather serve kale with my meal so that it rounds out the flavors.
Kale is very bitter and therefore it complements foods that are very sweet. For example, let’s say you make some braised short ribs and the sauce is a little on the sweet side. You can tone down the sweetness by serving the braised short ribs on a bed of kale.
Another excellent example of kale complimenting food is in this kale and white bean sausage soup. There is plenty of kale in the soup to let you know it’s there, but the white beans and sausage tone down the flavors so that they all compliment each other vs having the kale be the star of the show.
This soup is very Italian and every bite will transport you to a small Tuscan village.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz beef Polska Kiebasa Sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch thick slices (I used Hillshire Farm and really liked it)
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots (about 3)
1 1/3 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 (14.5 oz cans) low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
6 oz kale, thick ribs removed, chopped (about 1 1/2 bunches. 5 oz if using pre-cut)
2 (14.5 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until slightly browned, tossing occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove sausage, while leaving oil in pan, and drain sausage on a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.
Return pot with oil to medium heat, add carrots, onion, and celery and saute 3 minutes (while scraping bottom of pan to get the browned bits), add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Stir in chicken broth, water, parsley, rosemary, oregano and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and allow to gently boil 10 minutes. Add kale and allow to boil 10 minutes longer until kale and veggies are tender. Stir in cooked sausage and cannellini beans (you can add more broth at this point to thin if desired). Serve warm, top each serving with parmesan cheese.
