Chorizo and Kale Soup
I say this a lot, I am notorious for not following recipes. Or for taking a bit of one recipe, mixing it with another one and then adding my own fairy dust to it. This is a recipe that came out of what was in the fridge and pantry! I wanted a stick-to-your-bones soup that isn’t exactly a stew. It has a ton of vegetables in it (you know, for balance) and lentils.
Sometimes I throw in a can of chickpeas as well. I use Portuguese chorizo for this recipe. It is a smoked sausage as opposed to a fresh sausage so I just brown the chorizo coins for added flavour and then dump them in the soup once it gets going. I hope you like it!
Chorizo and Kale Soup
Ingredients:
2 chorizo sausages, cut into 1 inch coins
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
3-4 large carrots, medium-diced
3 large stalks of celery, medium-diced
2-1/2 to 3 cups of brown lentils, rinsed
1 bunch of curly kale, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp smoked paprika
4 quarts of vegetable stock or water*
1 can of chickpeas, optional
Salt and pepper (the salt depends on your stock, I usually use about 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp of salt. BUT, you should always taste and adjust based on your personal preferences!)
Directions:
In a 5 quart pot over medium heat, drizzle a little olive oil and place the chorizo coins cut-side down to brown and release some of the fat. Once browned on one side, flip them. It shouldn’t take too long brown 1-2ish minutes per side. Remove the sausage coins from the pot and set aside.
With the pot still over medium heat, add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Try to scrape up some of the brown bits left on the bottom of the pot from the sausage (extra flavour!).
Add the celery and carrots. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute or until you can smell the garlic. Push the veggies to the side and add the spices, salt and pepper to the middle of the pot. Stir the spices around a little to get toasted and fragrant, about a minute or so. Add the rinsed lentils and cook while stirring the spices into the vegetable mixture until they are fully-coated, about 2 minutes.
Add the stock or the water. I usually don’t measure this part, I just fill my pot until it is about an inch from the top. Bring the soup to a boil and add the sausage coins back into the soup. Let it simmer until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are cooked. This should take about 20-30 minutes.
Once the lentils are cooked, add in the kale and let it wilt. This is a good time to add the chickpeas if you are using them. Check your seasonings, add a bit more salt if you need. This soup is great served with some crusty bread. Enjoy!