Portuguese Kale Soup

What better to do when it is 100 degrees outside than make soup!  I am not sure what I was thinking besides that I needed to try my hand at duplicating Au Bon Pain's Portuguese Kale Soup ASAP.  So I did! I love this soup (at any time of year apparently).  We got kale in our CSA last week and this afternoon the wheels in my brain got turning.  I realized I had all the ingredients for this (very) hearty soup on hand, so completely made up this recipe which turned out to taste really similar to my chain favorite.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 5pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 medium size rustic potato, chopped small
3 cups raw kale, de-stemmed and rinsed
1/2 cup red onion, chopped small
1 cup navy beans, rinsed
2 links Trader Joes garlic turkey sausage, cut into small pieces
1 T. olive oil
32 oz. chicken stock
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
1 T. fresh garlic, chopped
Dash of red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat 1 T. olive oil in a large stock pot.  Add potatoes and onion and sautee about 10 minutes. Add garlic and sausage, stir. Add kale and cover for 2 minutes, allowing kale to slightly wilt.  Add stock, navy beans, bay leaf, red pepper, salt and pepper to taste.  I added an additional bouillon cube because I like salt and I don't love the taste of canned or boxed stock.  Bring to a slow boil, set a lid on so that the pot is covered but not sealed.  Cook about 45 minutes, until kale is cooked through. Put in your favorite soup bowl and enjoy!

Tip:
I LOVE this soup cup! (as seen above)

XOXO - Katie