Spicy Portuguese Kale Soup and Mushroom Toasts

This is the recipe I actually pulled Carb-Conscious Vegetarian by Robin Robertson out for. You see I get a bag of Kale every week in my CSA box and coming up with different things to do with it gets a bit tiring. I have made Portuguese soup with kale, sausage and potatoes before and I thought it would be interesting to try an all veggie version. I also had some leeks and fennel leftover from last week and thought I would toss those into the pot too.

Spicy Portuguese Soup

Carb-Conscious Vegetarian, Robin Robertson

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

5 cups vegetable stock

3 1/2 cups chopped kale

1 Tbsp low-sodium tamari soy sauce

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

1 bay leaf

salt to taste

1 cup cooked white beans

2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp fresh marjoram or 1/2 tsp dried marjoram
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Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, kale, tamari, red-pepper flakes, bay leaf, and salt to taste and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the beans, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before serving, stir in the parsley and marjoram. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Serves 4 (per serving 157 cal; 5 g fat; 8 g protein; 6 g fiber)

Notes/Results: I made a few changes, increasing the garlic to 3 cloves, adding two chopped leeks and two small fennel bulbs chopped. I also added 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (up from 1/8 tsp), some black pepper and another cup of broth. The author writes that for a heartier soup, saute thin slices of vegetarian sausage links and add them to the soup when ready to serve. This is a good flavored soup, hearty on its own or you could add the veggie sausage links. I grated some Pecorino-Romano cheese on top before serving and it added a nice touch. A good way to use up leftover greens and veggies--I would make it again. Today was a bit hot for soup but it will make for good lunches in the cold of the office air-con.

Now for the toasts: in the spirit of using up things, I took the oyster mushrooms from my CSA box, and sauteed them in a bit of olive oil, white wine, salt and pepper. I toasted some leftover baguette, drizzled some olive oil and sprinkled sea salt on it then topped it with the sauteed mushrooms. I added some grated Pecorino-Romano cheese, some black pepper and leftover thyme leaves. Yum! No seriously, I mean YUM!!! I am going to be sad when the mushrooms go away from my CSA box.