Kale.  It’s a superfood.  Superfoods are all the rage – they can make you thin in like, minutes, I think.  At least that’s what SELF.com promised me.  But even if it doesn’t, it’s OK, because I actually like kale, at least when served in a bowl with tomatoey broth and potato chunks and sausage, a concoction generally known as kale soup.

My family first had kale soup at a restaurant in Provincetown, MA, after our kind-of-annual whale watch.  I don’t actually remember this meal beyond a sort of hazy image of the restaurant-front and the dock and that it was definitely a gray day, and I definitely didn’t eat the original kale soup because at the age of 7 my diet consisted of exactly three foods – pasta, potatoes, and chicken fingers.  I’m so glad that’s changed.  But my mother was impressed, snagged the recipe, which is Portuguese in origin, and the soup was officially introduced into the family repertoire.  Now that I’m old enough to appreciate food groups besides white starch, I request this soup fairly often.  It’s got a great, hearty flavor, which is even better the next day, and is definitely qualified to be a member of the healthy meals category.  I love it when the healthy meals category includes sausage.

Kale Soup

• 1 lb. linguica (or kielbasa), sliced
• 1 c. ground carrots
• 1 c. ground onion
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 48 oz. can chicken broth
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 bunch fresh kale, chopped, or 12 oz. box frozen kale*
• 1 can kidney beans

This one’s easy:

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large pot.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 45 minutes.  Add beans and cook until heated through.  Done.

*If you use fresh kale, you may want to up the liquid content, as the frozen kale releases more water and takes up less volume than the fresh stuff.