Kale and Tomato Soup

one of our hand-made wreaths

We've been so busy making wreaths and kissing balls for the Christmas Season. It's been very cold and a bit snowy of late.  A couple days ago, I surprised my husband with a crock pot of minestrone for lunch down at the farm.   He said it really hit the spot with this cold weather and has requested more crock pot goodness!  Today I made Kale and Tomato Soup for him as I wanted to use up some left over kale, which is very sweet and tender this time of year due to the cold weather.  We've been growing kale in the greenhouses all year along with other greens.  This recipe is super easy and really only takes about 15 minutes on the stove, but I elected to saute and then add to the crock pot for obvious reasons already stated.  Of course...it's always great to come home to an already cooked meal in the evening, so our crock pot is always working.  As a matter of fact, I have two of them!

Kale growing in our greenhouse

1 medium/large onion (chopped)
2 bunches kale (washed and torn)
6 over-ripe tomatoes (chopped or pureed)
1 can, 16 oz- cannellini (white kidney) beans
2 cloves fresh garlic or garlic powder to taste
handful of small pasta such as ditalini or small rings
32 oz chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, saute the garlic and onion until translucent.  Add the kale and saute until wilted.   (Note: at this point, I placed the cooked onion/kale mixture and the remaining ingredients in to the crock pot, but you could complete this on the stove as well).

I coarsely chopped my tomatoes (from our farm's greenhouses....they are still so sweet I just had to add them) in my food processor.  I added everything to the crock pot and simmered all on low for 4 hours.  If completing on the stove-top, it should only take another 8-12 minutes to complete, just until the pasta is al dente.

Season to taste, top with some grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy with some crusty bread!
Happy Holidays!