kale soup

I took a spinning class this morning and the girl on the bike next to mine was fierce. She was tall and gorgeous and by some genetic (or surgical) miracle had great boobs despite being wicked-lean. An angel wing tattoo graced each shoulder blade and she wore black converse high tops with painted-on flames that licked at her slender ankles. This specimen was an animal on the bike, doing everything all-out: every sprint and every jump and every climb. Call it cheesy but I really drew on her energy and felt like I did a pretty kick-ass job keeping up with her. Maybe it was my imagination but I thought we were kind of feeding off each other, pushing each other to be a little better, to work a little harder. I mean, I'm no slouch on a spin bike either (just sayin'). She had to have felt it too.

So after the post-class stretch, I looked over at her: "Wasn't that great!?"

I caught her by surprise: "Hmm?"

"It was great spinning next to you," I said.

She looked at me quizzically as she toweled off her angel wings. "Oh?"

"Yeah. You really inspired me." I smiled big and waited for her to return the sentiment. Or at least acknowledge our synergistic spinning dynamic.

Instead? As she walked away from me: "I'm glad."

I was dumbstruck. I looked around to locate a witness. There was no one.

Ummmm...You're glad? I was pretty inspiring too, right? I mean, I kept up with you the whole time and only faked turning the resistance knob once, So...

Anyway.

Have I told you lately how much you inspire me? And whether it's mutual or not, I really like the thing we've got going here.

So I made you a kale soup:)

Kale Soup
adapted from Anna Thomas' Green Soup
serves 4-6

The secret to this soup being so amazing is caramelizing the onions. It adds a delicious depth of flavor. And that lemon at the end brightens it up just the perfect bit.

1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed and rough-chopped
1/2 bag baby spinach (or 1/2 bunch, about 4oz), washed
1/2 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, washed and rough-chopped
4 smallish yukon gold potatoes (2-3" in diameter), unpeeled and cut into 1-2" chunks
3 cups water
1 t salt
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
evoo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T red wine vinegar
2-3 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
freshly ground black pepper
1/8 t cayenne
juice of 1/2 lemon


In a soup pot, combine the kale, spinach, parsley, potatoes, 3 cups water and 1 t salt. Bring to a boil. Stir, turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, over low heat, sauté the chopped onion in 1T evoo (stirring every now and then), until soft and caramelized, about 30 minutes. Right before they're finished, push the onions aside and in one corner of the sauté pan, add an additional 1/2 T olive oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant, about one minute.

Add the caramelized onions and garlic to the soup and simmer another 10 minutes.

Add the red wine vinegar to the hot sauté pan and deglaze, scraping up any browned bits for just 30 seconds. Add this mixture to the soup pot too.

Add the broth and puree with an immersion blender until smooth (or transfer in batches to a regular blender), taking care not to blend too much or the potatoes will turn gummy.

Return the soup to the (hot) pot, and add the lemon juice, cayenne and several cracks of black pepper. Taste for additional seasoning. Serve with a drizzle of evoo on top. <---------this step adds a lot!:)

xoxo
jolie

P.S.  Want more awesome/nuts spinning shenanigans? Go here, and here.