St.Patrick’s Day is coming up and I have to admit something we are kind in a love/hate relationship. To error on the side of hate (in the love/hate relationship) I was born the day before St.Patrick’s Day which means my birthday is often over looked below are some examples:
Me (as a child) – ‘Hey I’m turning 10! Want to come to my party?’
Everykid I invited – ‘Is there going to be a green cake?’ OR worse… ‘I can’t, it’s March break and me and family are going away.’
Me (as an adult)– ‘Hey you want to do something this weekend?’
Friend – ‘For St Patrick’s Day?’
Me– ‘Nope, it’s my Birthday.’
Friend – ‘Well there is this great Irish themed show/party/dinner/event… want to go to that?’ OR worse… ‘I can’t, I have St.Patty’s day plans, sorry.’
To add to my struggle, I’d like you all to know; I love the beer but not whiskey. I love the soda bread but not Irish Stew. I love to celebrate(pretty much anything worth celebrating) but I’m definitely not even a smidgen Irish. I do however love the colour green! I wasn’t sure if you knew this but kale is green and it makes this great green soup. Today I had it with pesto sourdough bread. Not even a bit Irish, not even St.Patrick’s Day themed but it’s green! So deal with it.
Creamed Kale Soup
- 1 medium white onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 green onions
- 1 bunch of kale
- 1 white potato
- 1 can of white kidney beans, washed and drained
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp of rosemary
- 1 tsp old bay
- 1/2 tsp of red chili flakes
- 4 cups of vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup of water
- 2-3 tsp of light soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Method
Peel and dice the white onion,potato, green onion and garlic and set aside.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a 3- 4 quart pot. Add onion and sautee for about 5 minutes. When onions start to brown add potato and the whites of the green onions. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the bottom of the pan had lots of brown bits, the onions are soft and caramelized and the potatoes are starting to stick to the bottom. Add garlic, rosemary, chili flakes, old bay, pepper, the rest of the green onion and the soup stock. Increase the heat to max, scraping the brown bits form the bottom of the pan.
Bring soup to a boil. While the potatoes are cooking, wash, trim and de-stem the kale. When the potatoes are soft, add the kidney beans, water and soysauce. Turn down heat to low.
Add all the kale and cook for about 3 minutes until it’s soft. Season with salt and pepper. Puree to desired consistency. It won’t puree completely smooth, but a little texture is nice, right?
Enjoy! Serve with some bodacious bread and pretend you are Irish if it makes you feel more festive!
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