Before kale started getting into everything from cookies to treats for dogs, there was kale soup – a hearty concoction that takes no special talent to prepare.  All that’s needed – the ingredients, a large soup pot, and the bit of time it takes to chop, sauté and simmer.

I combed the web for a version of this soup I recall from many years ago when our friend and neighbor Mariyln Fuller hosted a Sunday night soup party.  Damned if I can recall what the other two soups were, because that’s the one that stuck in my mind – I went back for seconds, forsaking the others I’d tried.  The taste memory was so intense that I knew it would be easier to reinvent it myself than try to find her version from an ancient issue of Gourmet.

And so it goes.  This makes a huge pot and can certainly be halved:

RONI’S KALE, SAUSAGE AND VEGETABLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 very large sweet onion, 2 large carrots, and 2 celery stalks chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

1 12-ounce package Trader Joe’s Andouille Chicken Sausages, sliced thinly

1 10-ounce package Trader Joe’s chopped kale

1 15-ounce can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium russet potato peeled and chopped

1 28-ounce can tomatoes diced (I used Muir Glen fire-roasted), undrained

8 cups chicken stock

1/4 tsp black pepper & 1/2 tsp salt

PREPARATION:

In large soup pot or dutch oven, sauté onions, carrots & celery on medium heat about 10 minutes until softened.  Add garlic and kale, cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook about 2 minutes.  Stir in all other ingredients, cover and simmer on medium low about 30 minutes.  Serve with a dash of Tabasco if you like a bit more spice.

I’m just finishing off a bowl as I write this – to be enjoyed for the rest of the week.  Try it – Winter has come!