Some of you may know that I recently embarked on a weekly Foodie News column in The Irish Independent’s Weekend magazine on Saturdays.  This not only started 2011 off with a delighted squeal of happiness but it has also allowed me to to work a few hours less at my day job as an EFL teacher.  Subsequently leading to a lot more time to cook and blog from home.  Hurray!

Last week’s Home Organics bag had a beautiful head of kale inside, with which I went to work on this gorgeous Chorizo and Potato soup by Nigel Slater, which I found over on London based blog Gourmet Traveller.

I adapted it ever so slightly to fit in with other ingredients in my Home Organics bag, and you can follow the recipe yourself after the jump!

What you need for a Nigel Slater adapted Chorizo & Potato Soup for a hearty lunch/dinner for 2

1 large onion, finely sliced in a half moon shape

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into medium sized pieces

3-4 handfuls of kal leaves, shredded

200g cooking chorizo, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2- 3 clovese of garlic

1 litre (4 cups) of boiling water

2 bay leaves

Olive oil

Salt ‘n’ peppa

Something I like about this soup is its lack of stock.  Although I had a moment of doubt about using just water, I had enough faith in my culinary BFF chorizo to add enough flavour to the soup without adding an salt-overloaded stock cube.  I was not disappointed with the result.

Heat oil over a medium to high heat in a deep frying pan and cook the onions gently for about 4 minutes.

Add the garlic, potatoes and carrots to the pan once the onions have softened a bit.  Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.  Now add the water, bay leaves and season with salt and black pepper.  This is where I had my moment of doubt because it just looked like a big sink full of floating bits of veg.  Have no fear, this soup will come through.

Bring it the boil and let it simmer away for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are soft and ready to crumble.

In the last 5 minutes of boiling, add the chopped chorizo to a small frying pan over a medium heat.  No need to use oil, the chorizo releases the most delicious oil itself.  Keep warm once the pieces have crisped up a bit.

Still on the simmer, use a potato masher or fork to mash up your potatoes so that the water suddenly become more soupy like.  Now add your kale and simmer for another 3 to 4 minutes until tender.

Serve the soup in a bowl and sprinkle over the chorizo.  Be careful not to let too much of the chorizo oil into the soup  as it will make it oily.  Instead of chucking the oil, why not pour it over a bit of toast or bread to go along with your soup.  Win!

ZNOMZ!

TUNE

Can’t stop listening to this tune at the moment from Tune-yards. Have a listen via the link below and you’ll see why.  Amaze!

Bizzness – Tune-yards (on The Hype Machine)

Categories: Dinner, Lunch