Making Kale Edible

Kale was on sale a while ago and I thought it was time to branch out a little. Kale is supposed to be one of the healthiest greens out there and I tend to stay in my spinach/romaine rut. 


I bought some kale.


Then I tried eating it. First attempt was in a green smoothie. I make these all the time for breakfast and thought I'd just substitute kale for the spinach. 


FAIL!


In a salad? EPIC FAIL!


I still had a lot of kale left. I hate throwing food away. So I tried a new recipe for sweet potato kale soup.


It was amazing. I ate every bit of that soup by myself (Isaac was out of town) and could have eaten more. Putting kale in a soup tenderizes the tough leaves and the delicious broth masks and mellows out the flavor. The sweet potatoes also help balance out the kale. 


That said, here is the recipe. This is a nutritional powerhouse and sooo edible!

African Sweet Potato & Kale Soup

Source: Happy Herbivore

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes (about 3/4" cube. ish.)

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. granulated garlic powder

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

1 tsp. mild curry powder

1 T. yellow miso paste* (see below for explanation)

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Cook onion in a medium soup pot in a thin layer of water or in non-stick cooking spray until translucent. Add broth, yams, and 3/4 C. water and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook until yams are almost tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Add kale and remaining ingredients. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until kale is dark green and soft, about 3 minutes more.

Set aside for 5-10 minutes, allowing flavors to merge, then serve.

*A word on miso paste: Miso paste can be found in the refrigerator section of ethnic foods stores and most whole foods stores, and maybe even in a really well-stocked supermarket. That said, if you don't want to buy it or can't find it, some possible substitutions are soy sauce or tahini (preferably half & half), or if you can find some powdered miso soup (Knorr apparently makes it), you can use the powdered soup mix to replace the miso paste. None of these are as good as the real thing (miso has kind of a unique but delicious flavor) but how many recipes out there really use the stuff? I used real miso though, and it was AMAZING.