The Hunger Struck - Confessions of a Food Fanatic.

It feels like a long time has passed since I last posted. It’s been a challenge to be away from my kitchen for almost 3 weeks now, I feel a little anxious to get back there, there’s just something about the evenings that doesn’t feel quite right without it. But I have to admit, it’s been a nice change to have someone cook for me every night of the week. There’s something so nice about walking in the door after a long work day and not having to do anything, I know I’ll be missing this.

In an effort not to leave the pages of this website outdated for too long, I managed after some persuasion, to push my way into the kitchen over the weekend and whip up my favorite kale soup. I even managed to pick up some of that fabulous Poilane bread you can buy in Vancouver that’s shipped all the way from the Poilane Bakery in Paris, something I must confess I have done several times since it’s become available. Fancy, I know, and maybe slightly ostentatious.

This soup, while excellent on its own is the sort of thing you really need to eat with a great piece of toasted bread and butter. It doesn’t have to be the sort that’s flown in from Paris and while I do recommend trying this bread at least once, it’s certainly not the most environmentally conscious thing to make a habit of. This soup is incredibly hearty and I like a bread that can stand up to its robust flavors, which is why the perfectly chewy sourdough dough Poilane bread is an ideal accompaniment.

Kale Soup - Serves 4

4 slices thick cut bacon, diced

1 medium sized onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, slices

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 medium sized potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 small can of cannellini beans

8 – 10 cups of organic chicken stock

1-2 bunches of kale, washed and roughly chopped

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 sausages of your choice, I used those “European” sausages

1 leek, julienned

Place the bacon pieces in a large heavy bottom soup pot over medium high heat and fry until crispy. Once the fat has rendered out you can pour off some of it, leaving about 1 -2 tablespoons in the pot. Add the onions to the bacon and fry until they are translucent but not browned. Add in the garlic and fresh thyme sprigs cook for a minute or so, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Once the onions and garlic are fragrant add in the potatoes and stir around to coat them in a bit of the bacon fat. Pour in the chicken stock and add the bay leaves, beans and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the soup up to a boil once boiling add in the kale and then reduce heat and allow to simmer fro about 25 minutes or until the potatoes and kale are soft and all of the flavors have combined.

I chopped up the sausage and just tossed it in a few minutes before serving to warm it up. You could also leave the sausage whole and serve one on top of every bowl. This is normally my preference, but I didn’t have enough sausage this time around so cutting it up was more economical.

This time around I fried up some julienned leeks quickly and serve them as a garnish.

Before serving make sure to adjust the seasoning to your liking. Divide into bowl and serve with some good bread.