I recently had dinner at a local restaurant and one of their soup choices was a kale and sausage soup. I tried a small cup of it and enjoyed it but I could tell it was not clean and it was high in sodium. So the next morn while driving to the gym I came up with my own recipe for this cold-weather, healthy remake. Below is my rendition complete with clean, healthy ingredients and this takes hardly any time to put together. This batch will make up four soup bowls.
*Here’s a tip when selecting soup stock, you want some sodium but not an astronomical amount. So finding stock that is below 600 mg per serving is a good option unless you need to seriously lower your sodium intake. I have found that most stocks that say on the front label “Lower Sodium” usually are still high and a little disappointing in taste. If you need the flavor from salt, however, the quality of the salt is key! Himalayan salt, either pink or black, has more of the trace minerals your body doesn’t make and needs. Let go of your white, processed, iodized table salt. Really, it’s ok to just chuck it, you won’t die.
Leek, Kale, & Sausage Soup
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 large Leek, sliced thinly, green and white parts
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup tightly packed organic baby kale, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 package chicken sausage, sliced
2 cups chicken broth & 2 cups of water
1 star anise (if you have it) or a bay leaf
1 large sprig, or 1 TBSP, dried rosemary, crumbled
In a large stock pot heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add leeks, garlic, and sausage, you may need to add a little splash of olive oil. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage browns, about 4-5 minutes. Add broth, water and star anise or bay leaf. Stir and allow to simmer until the soup is hot. Stir in kale and rosemary, cover and simmer until kale wilts about 2-3 minutes. Season with black pepper and Himalayan salt.
Enjoy yo!
