Calalou and Basil Soup

It's been too long since I posted. No excuse other than my cute 4-month old. :) Haven't cooked any very interesting foods for awhile. Figuring it was high time I stopped with the excuses and started cooking real food again!

I remember when we had a farm share last year Lora and I had greens coming out of our ears. Kale chips, soups, greens and beans where our go-to recipes for all the excess. Last week a friend shared her favorite "greens" soup recipe and I had to try it. So the great part is this recipe would work with any green you want to cook down and get out of your fridge! I added tomatoes and basil because that's what I add to everything in the summer. Wish I had this recipe last year!

When I went to the market last week I expected greens to be at every stand. It was bizarre, nothing. No spinach, swiss chard, kale... nothing!! Guess its only a spring thing, but our farm last year produced all of it all summer long.

Well, It was the last thing on my list and Abel I were racing to see who could spot green first. Finally, I saw some collard greens and another big huge barrel full of this light large leafed green. The woman behind the bench was watching me, "You know what that is, Honey?"

"No." I replied. "Is it good in soup?"

"Why, yes!" She beamed. "It's calalou."

So there you have it. It's delicious but anything else you have in your fridge will work too.

Mangia~

Tracey

Calalou and Basil Soup

makes 2 hearty servings so you probably want to double or triple it!

2 large handfuls of any green leafy veggie, deveined and rinsed

7 or so large leaves of basil

1 large onion chopped coursely

3 cloves garlic sliced coursely

olive oil

2 fresh tomatoes chopped into course chunks or 1 can diced tomatoes

2.5 cups chicken broth or more if you like thinner soup

salt and pepper

Saute onion and garlic in about 4 Tablespoons olive oil for 2-3 min over medium heat. Add greens and basil and cook until tender. Add tomatoes and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Cook down for a few minutes and flavor with salt and pepper. Blend in food processor or blender until smooth, add more stock if needed and heat through before serving. A swirl of heavy cream would be great but I didn't have any... was still good. :)