Kale, potato and egg soup

Amazing what you can put in a soup isn’t it? Sounds very simple this one, but the flavours and bold and bright at the end. And it’s perfect for this freezing, wintry and blustery day…

Fresh from the garden: potatoes, garlic, kale, eggs
Recipe source: adapted from a recipe on thekitchn.com
Serves: 4 or 24 tastes

What to do:

1. Scrub the potatoes then chop it onto centimetre cubes. Peel the garlic cloves and squeeze them through the garlic press.
2. Add potato, garlic, salt, water and bouillon to a medium stockpot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer.
3. While the potatoes start to cook, wash the kale and shake dry over the sink. Remove any thick, tough stems and chop them into tiny pieces. Add the chopped stems to the pot with the potatoes and simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Stack the leaves of kale on top of each other. Slice them crosswise into thin ribbons, and add them to the pot with the potatoes and kale stems. If necessary, add more stock or water to the pot to just about cover the kale.
5. Cover the pot and let the soup cook for 8 to 10 minutes. The soup is ready when the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, and when a ribbon of kale has become tender, but has not yet become stringy or pulpy. Stir in the vinegar. Taste and season with more salt and fresh cracked pepper. Also add more stock or water if a more liquid soup is desired.
6. To finish, crack the eggs into little bowls, and then gently slide them into the soup. Ladle some of the soup broth on top of the eggs to submerge them. Put the lid back on the pot and cook for 4 minutes. When done, the whites of the eggs should be opaque, but the yolk should still be soft. If the eggs break into the soup before they are poached, just use a fork to swirl them into the soup.
7. Carefully spoon the eggs into a soup bowls. Ladle the soup on top. Finish with a grating of grana padano cheese and a thin drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Notes: What else could you put into a soup? What else could you use instead of kale?