Wednesday Dinner: Kale and sausage minestrone

On Wednesday night, I made a very hearty dish, kale minestrone. Kale is such an underused vegetable. It tastes like sweet cabbage and delicious. They have really fresh kale at the local farmer's market I always go to.



Kale and sausage minestrone (for 3 people):
Kale (1/3 of big bunch)
Sausage (1 uncooked)
Potatoes (4-5 baby ones or 2 regular ones)
Carrot (1)
Celery (2 long or 3-4 short stems)
Chick peas (1 cup cooked) - I used dried ones and just cooked them over the weekend, but you can use canned chick peas.
Zucchini (1)
Onion (1/2 of medium-sized)
Olive oil (2 Tbs)
Canned whole tomatoes (1/2 of a big can or 1 small can) - I use whole but you can use diced tomatoes too.
Chicken stock (3 cups)
Bay leaf (1)
Dried oregano (1/2 tsp) - optional
Salt (1 tbs) - adjust the amount according to how salty your chicken stock is
Pepper

1. Dice potatoes and soak them in water. You don't need to peel them if they are baby potatoes but, if they are regular ones, peel them and soak them in water. This prevents the soup from getting starchy.
2. Chop up kale. It doesn't really reduce in volume that much, so I think you should chop it up pretty small.
3. Slice sausage.
4. Dice all the other vegetables. Don't need to cut them too small. I personally like chunky vegetables, but it's totally up to you.
5. Heat olive oil in a big pot on medium high heat. Grill sausage pieces until they're brown then add diced onions. Keep stirring until onions are translucent.
6. Add all the other vegetables until potatoes and kale. When everything is well incorporated (no need to cook everything through), add chicken stock and tomatoes. If you're using whole tomatoes, crush them as you put them into the pot.
7. Once the soup boils, add potatoes, kale, and chick peas. Add salt and pepper.
8. Put bay leaf in and cook for about 20 min on low heat with the lid on until all the vegetables are nice and tender.
9. Add dried oregano in the end.
10. Serve it up!

Oh minestrone is so versatile. You can almost put anything. Instead of using sausage, you could use diced chicken meat, bacon, etc. In terms of vegetables, you can use diced cabbage instead of kale. You can also add things like garlic, chili peppers, and basil to spice up your soup. For beans, you can also use lentils. If you want little more volume, you can also add some pasta or serve some bread on the side. Just be creative or throw in anything left in your fridge!

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