Potato-Kale Soup with Gruyere

I made this soup for dinner tonight.  It was a quick and easy soup to make.  It hasn't been very cold lately but I've been craving soup anyway.  This recipe could easily be made-over into a vegetarian meal with just a few tweaks.  I would suggest switching to low-sodium vegetable broth.  If you are a vegan then you would have to use a butter substitute and a cheese substitute but if not the switch to veggie broth is about all you need to do.  You could also bring this up to a dinner stew level with the addition of some shredded chicken.  Too bad I thought of that idea after I had already eaten a bowl of soup.  I was also thinking that you could substitute frozen spinach or even Swiss chard if you don't like kale.  The recipe is originally from www.myrecipes.com.  I thought the soup was very tasty.  Serve with some crusty french bread for a delish meal.

Potato-Kale Soup with Gruyere

Yield:  6 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 cups finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

7 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

4 cups coarsely chopped peeled Yukon gold potato (about 1-1/2 pounds)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 bay leaf

6 cups chopped fresh Kale (about ¾ pound)

1 teaspoon dried basil

9 tablespoons (about 2 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

Preparation:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Stir in broth, potato, salt, and bay leaf; bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until potato is tender.

Stir in kale and basil.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes or until kale is tender.  Discard bay leaf.  Partially mash potatoes with a potato masher until thick and chunky.  Top with cheese.