Red Russian kale soup with sausage and rice



 Ever since I started home-schooling my son, I have not looked for any time to work on this blog. I am still cooking, even cooking new things, I just haven't taken the time to write down what I am doing.

I was inspired by my neighbor to take it up again, and had posted a few soup pictures on Facebook. One of my friends wanted the recipe for this soup, and since I just made it today, I figured I could at least write down what I did with some degree of accuracy. It's soup, though, and by nature very forgiving, so the amounts aren't super-duper important.


Red Russian and Kale Soup with Sausage and Rice

2 tsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 links pre-cooked spicy Italian sausage (or other variety of your choice), sliced
1 large carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
5 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
4 cups or so chopped red Russian kale
1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and carrots and cook for another 5-7  minutes. Add the garlic, cook and stir for one minute. Stir in the broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.  Add the kale and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes longer.

Crispy Kale Chips

I learned how to make these kale chips last year after seeing many recipes for them online. It is one of those recipes that is almost too simple to call a recipe. These kale chips are so interesting. Delicious, salty and crispy. A great starter to a meal, or addition to any snack spread. Hrm....the Superbowl is coming up.

This is a basic recipe with salt as the only seasoning, and it is quite good, but feel free to experiment with other flavor combinations. I have made them with chili powder and cumin for a Mexican feel, or you could use curry powder, or just spice them up a bit more by adding a pinch of cayenne....

Crispy Kale Chips

1 Bunch Kale
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Salt


Preheat Oven to 350

Clean and dry the kale. Cut away any course stems, and cut the leaves into roughly 3-inch pieces. Toss the kale with the olive oil and salt. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Place the kale on the baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for about 10 minutes, turn with a spatula or tongs and bake 10 minutes more, until crisp and beginning to brown on the edges. Remove from the oven to a plate or platter. Or, if you are uncouth like me, eat straight off the baking sheet while the fried chicken cooks.

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Kale in Puff Pastry

I bought some frozen puff pastry at the beginning of the holiday season believing I would surely create something delicious with it over the holidays. But here it is January 3, and there the puff pastry was still sitting in my freezer, tasking me. So I decided to make this Kale in Puff Pastry for breakfast. It turned out pretty good!

I've seen similar recipes to this one that use spinach, but I don't always have spinach on hand and I almost always have kale, so I decided to give it a go. Today I used lacinato kale, but any type of kale would be great. You could use chard or spinach in this recipe, as well.

Kale in Puff Pastry

Preheat oven to 375

One Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry

Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature while you prepare the kale and sauce.

For the Kale

1/2 Small Onion, Fine Dice
1 Clove Garlic, Minced or Pressed
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Bunch Kale, Cleaned Stemmed and Coarsely Choppped (Do not dry, the water on the leaves will aid in cooking)
Salt and Pepper
Pinch Cayenne Pepper (Optional)

Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and saute until beginning to brown, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about one more minute. Add the kale, in batches if needed, and cook until very tender. Season to taste with salt, pepper and the optional cayenne. If you opt for the cayenne, go easy, I used a bit too much for my taste. Remove the skillet from the heat and set aside while you make the sauce.

For the Sauce

1 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup Milk (I used 2%)
2 Ounces Neuchatel Cheese
1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Pepper
Nutmeg
One Egg beaten with 1 tsp Water

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking for about a minute to cook the raw flour taste away. Slowly add the milk while constantly whisking to avoid lumps. Once all of the milk had been incorporated, heat it to a gentle simmer. Add the neuchatel cheese, one ounce at a time, stirring to incorporate completely before adding the second ounce. Then add in the parmesan cheese and stir until completely melted. Season the sauce to taste with pepper and nutmeg. You can use white pepper if you don't like black specks in your sauce.

Combine the sauce and the kale in either the skillet or the sauce pan, whichever seems to make more sense to you.

The puff pastry should be thawed by now. Carefully unroll it and place it on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet, pressing the seems together if necessary. Spoon the kale onto the puff pastry, leaving about a 1 inch border. Fold in the corners of the puff pastry so that they meet in the middle. (As the pastry bakes, it will move apart revealing the tasty kale inside.) Brush the tops of the pastry with the egg wash. Bake at 375 until puffy and brown, 25-30 minutes.