Spicy black eyed pea and Kale soup

“I feed on good soup, not beautiful language.”

Moliere

I couldn’t agree more. Soup is one of those foods that just seems to transcend the everyday. Feeling sick? Have some soup. Down in the dumps? Have some soup. Snuggling with a good book on a cold day? SOUP!!!!!!!!! (do you get the idea I like soup??)

I happened to find this recipe on the net and like so many other things I could not leave it alone and so I’ve made some changes to the original and a couple of those changes were the addition of Sweet Potato and a Smoked Pork hock. I chose these two additions because the sweet potato adds another level of flavour and I like the bit of smokiness the pork hock adds and since the pork hock has been smoked and essentially cooked it only really needs to be heated through hence the shorter cooking time on this one.

One other point on this soup is that because of the kale and celery (vegetables) and the black eyed peas (protein and fiber) this is a healthy soup.

Here’s how we do this one.

Shopping List:

• 2 19 oz tins of Black eyed peas – drained and rinsed
• 1 1 1/2 pound Smoked Pork hock
• 1 15 oz can diced Sweet Potato
• 3 Celery stalks – chopped
• 1 medium Onion – diced
• 4 Garlic cloves – chopped
• 1 large bunch of Kale – torn
• 1 cup Cremini mushrooms – quartered
• 8 cups Vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cayenne
• 1 teaspoon dried Thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Putting it all together:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven.
2. Cook the onions for about three minutes.
3. Shallow slice the skin and fat of the pork hock.
4. Place the pork hock in the pot with the onions and add the vegetable broth.
5. Add the celery and garlic and bring the pot to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat and add the dry spices.
7. Simmer until the skin of the pork hock has opened where you sliced it.
8. Add the remaining ingredients except the Kale and continue simmering.
9. Remove the skin and fat from the hock.
10. Remove the meat from the bone and die into bite sized pieces.
11. Add the pork back to the soup.
12. Mix in the kale and simmer until the kale has wilted.
13. Add salt and pepper and adjust the other seasonings if needed.

There you have it another “simple but tasty recipe for the grilling season and beyond”

Until next time………..

                               Bon Appetit