Pumpkin and Kale Soup
“Sopa Verde” adapted
from my Pumpkin cook book by DeeDee Stovel
2 slices of bacon (optional)
1 T. Olive Oil1 Onion, chopped
3 Cloves of garlic minced
4 Cups of chicken or vegetable broth
4 medium-small potatoes, peeled and diced
½ lb. Kale, stems removed and chopped
Salt
1 ½ cups of cooked pumpkin, pureed
¼ t. ground nutmeg
White pepper
¾ c. half and half (optional)
Begin with the bacon if you choose to use it (it creates a
totally different and totally yummy soup!). Place the strips of bacon into a
heated Dutch oven (cast iron Le Cruset style if you have it) and brown it over
medium heat until it gets crispy. Remove
the bacon, and set it aside to cool for later.
Keep the bacon fat in the Dutch oven and add olive oil until you get to
about a total of 1.5 Tablespoons. Use a
wooden spoon to scrape the bacon-goodness off the bottom of the Dutch oven and
to mix the 2 oils well. Add onion and
cook about 5 minutes until onion is soft and has begun to caramelize. Add garlic and cook about a minute more.
Pour 2 cups of broth into the pan and stir everything about
scraping the bottom with your wooden spoon to incorporate any brown bits. Add potatoes, kale, and about a ½ teaspoon of
salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat
to a simmer and cover the Dutch oven.
Simmer for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are easily poked with a fork and
kale is wilted. About half way thru is a
good time to check the potatoes and stir everything up a bit, especially the
kale.
When potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, transfer it
all to a blender and puree! I puree
about 1/3, add another 1/3 puree again, and then finish it all up. Return the soup to the Dutch oven once it is
all pureed and green looking. Expect
flecks of darker green as you can only get the kale but so small.
Stir in the remaining broth, pumpkin, and nutmeg. Add salt and white pepper to taste and even
add more nutmeg if you think it appropriate!
At this point, your soup is ready to serve. You can either add half-and half to the whole
mixture (take it off the heat first), a tad to each bowl, or none at all. If you chose to use bacon, crumble some on
the top of each serving. We love to eat
this soup with thick slices of crusty bread.
Background:
In a previous post, I mentioned this soup, and lo and
behold, its recipe was requested! I was
thrilled to hear the request and have others join me on my journey. So here, at
the tail end of winter, it is! This soup
is super creamy and delish when the pumpkin is substituted for butternut squash;
in fact, I don’t think I miss the bacon when I use butternut squash. I find that when I don’t use the half and
half, I taste the broth more… Dairy and
I aren’t the best of friends, so I tend to add half and half to individual
servings, especially for the kids who could use the extra calories J.
MariaBella and Joaquin just love to dunk chunks of crusty
Tuscan bread into this “sopa verde,” as they call it. I love that my husband actually eats soup,
let alone something green (I told them it had bacon the first time I served it
to get him to eat it)!
Like most (if not all) my pumpkin recipes, this soup is
super tasty when other hard winter squashes are substituted for the
pumpkin. I do, however find, that acorn
squash lends a watery taste to the soup and bacon is a must to enhance the
flavor; and buttercup squash makes for a sweeter soup…
To read more on how awesome squashes like pumpkin are for
our bodies, visit:
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