Irish Colcannon Soup

I made this Irish Colcannon Soup on the fly, using the classic Irish potato and cabbage/kale side dish ~ colcannon ~ as my inspiration.  I started out with the traditional Irish recipe ingredients, but, then I spun the potato, kale, leek and ham into a soup version.  I simmered it all for about 45 minutes, long enough for the kale and leeks to became so soft that they melted into the broth.  The resulting soup turned out rich and thick, chunky yet creamy and all without adding any butter or cream, so it's low fat to-boot.  Yippee!

I always like to tinker with familiar Irish dishes around St. Patrick's Day, it's like having a little bit of Ireland in my kitchen.  Enjoy!  :)

Irish Colcannon Soup
serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken broth
• 4 cups large diced potatoes, peeled
• 1 cup thin sliced leeks
• 1 cup diced cooked ham
• 1/2 bunch steamed kale, with stems removed, finely chopped ((steam for 5-10 minutes before adding to the recipe to help pre-soften kale ~ optional ~ OR just toss in chopped raw kale))
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• dash liquid smoke (optional)
• dash hot pepper sauce (optional)
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Place first 7 ingredients (chicken broth - onion powder) in a large pot. (if you're using raw kale, it might not dissolve as much as my precooked kale did)  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until potatoes/kale are super tender, about 30 minutes.  Add the nutmeg, liquid smoke, hot sauce and simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes.  ***((If you want it thicker, simmer a bit longer.  If you want it thinner, add a little more broth.  If you want the kale firmer, cook it a bit less.  If you want the kale melting into the soup, cook it a bit more.  It's easy to adjust the soup to get the texture just the way you want it. ))  Before serving, add salt/pepper to taste.  Enjoy!