BM#4 Day 2: Sausage White Beans & Kale Soup

Couple of weeks ago, I came across this soup recipe and the pictures were very tempting. It had lot of kale in it.  Kale is one of the healthiest green leafy vegetables and since I tasted it just a few days ago, I made it right away and it came out very good! I did not take pictures that day. I made it again for dinner, last night. I cut back on kale and white beans and the soup was excellent.  It was cloudy last evening and the clarity of my picture is not that good and is not as tempting as Des's.

Source: Des's Life’s Ambrosia
Total Time: 30 – 35 minutes
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 – 25 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. Oil
• 1 tsp. Red Chili Flakes (adjust to taste)
• ½ medium Onion diced
• 1 – 2 tbsp. crushed Garlic
• 1 lb. Turkey Kielbasa (I used 14 oz. Turkey Polska Kielbasa. I could not find 16 oz. pack but would recommend 16 oz. / 1 lb. kielbasa if you want more meat in your soup)
• 4 cups Vegetable Stock (I used homemade stock. Can use store chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1 – 1 ½ cups firmly pack chopped Kale
• 1 cup White Beans (I used canned The Great Northern Beans)
• ¼ tsp. Black Pepper Powder (adjust to taste)
• Salt to taste (I did not add any as I added some salt to my stock and if using store bought stock, you might not need to add any either)

Preparation:

• Wash kale and pluck the leaves from the stem. I used 7-8 stems from the bunch of kale. It gave me 2 cups of firmly chopped kale but used only 1 – 1 ½ cups kale. I am going to bake the rest of the kale either today or tomorrow.
• Heat oil in a sauce pan and add red chili flakes. When the flakes turn to change color, add onion, garlic and sauté for couple of minutes on medium heat.
• Add sliced sausage, stock and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
• Add kale, white beans and pepper powder. Cook on medium low flame for 15 – 20 minutes until the kale is cooked.
• Serve hot.

Note:

• I used homemade stock but your favorite store bought can or carton of stock can be used. Last time I made this soup, I used chicken bouillon and the soup was very flavorful. The only drawback is it had lots of sodium in it! I did not add any salt but was a little salty. I used 2 cubes and I cube might have been sufficient.