Cream of kale, peas and spinach with goat cheese

Juana, author of La Cocina de Babel, brings us a very healthy recipe perfect for the cold months: kale and pea soup with goat cheese. Inspired by a recipe from Donna Hay, it is a delicious soup you'll want to make again and again!

When I was little, on cold winter nights, my mother always served us a delicious hot soup accompanied by fresh bread and butter, nothing extravagant or complicated: vegetables combined according to what was in the fridge, which meant they were never exactly the same and prompted comments like “how good, mom!”, or “I don't like this at all today”, to which she would reply “you're going to eat it anyway”... She inherited that habit from my great-grandmother and I, as a good daughter of my mother, keep it in my own home.

But time passes and times change. Now even a humble soup or purée can become something sophisticated by combining vegetables and flavors that until relatively recently were unknown. Such is the case with kale, a vegetable that belongs to the cabbage family, low in calories and rich in minerals and vitamins, which has made it a true “healthy” star and the protagonist of the soup I bring you today: a recipe from the famous Donna Hay that I have adapted a little to my personal taste, I cooked it in my beautiful “faitout” de Emile Henry and I hope you enjoy it on some cold winter night.

Emile Henry ceramic casserole "Faitout", Nezumi ceramic plate by Tokyo Design Studio and Seigaiha porcelain bowl by Tokyo Design Studio.

Ingredients (for four people)

• 1 liter of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 150gr of kale
• 200gr of baby spinach
• 400gr of frozen peas
• 100gr of fresh goat cheese
• 1 tablespoon of Trilloliva extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• Mint leaves to garnish

Preparation

1. First we wash and drain the vegetables. Remove the stems from the kale and on a cutting board finely chop it and the clove of garlic.
2. Heat the oil in the “faitout” and we add the minced garlic clove and the kale, stir for a few seconds and when the kale begins to soften, add the spinach and peas. We stir the Set again, add the broth, season to taste, and add the sprig of rosemary.
3. Bring to a boil then lower to medium heat, cover with the “faitout” lid and continue cooking for about fifteen to twenty minutes, until the peas are tender.
4. While the soup is cooking, put the goat cheese on a plate or bowl, mash with a fork and set aside.
5. After the cooking time, remove the rosemary sprig and puree the soup with an immersion blender until you obtain a soup of a beautiful intense green color.
6. Serve the soup very hot with the goat cheese spread over its surface and garnished with mint leaves.

Emile Henry ceramic casserole "Faitout", Nezumi ceramic plate by Tokyo Design Studio, Nezumi ceramic bowl Tokyo Design Studio and Seigaiha porcelain bowl by Tokyo Design Studio.