Green Eggs and Kale: Kale Soup with Poached Egg

You do not like kale.
So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may, I say.

-paraphrased from Dr. Seuss





I have been obsessed with the idea of this soup for some time now. Literally obsessed. I had this vision of a vibrant green soup with a poached egg floating in it, and I couldn't shake it. And truly, I tried to shake it, because the people that live in my house are getting pretty sick of the kale parade. But it wouldn't go away.

Plus, I really like poached eggs.

And double plus, I'm home alone today and there's no one here to stop me from making it! Ha!

I couldn't really find any working recipes out there for a blended kale soup. Left to my own devices, I simply went with what worked well in my head. (Potentially ugly, I know, but it turned out okay this time.)  I opted to use mild cannellini beans to both slightly thicken the soup as well as add protein. A generous 1/4 cup helping of dijon mustard went into the pot as well. That might seem like an odd ingredient for a soup, but it works really well with the kale, and it mellows during the simmering stage. In fact, you may even find that you want to add one more dollop at the end to bring it back to the front.

On it's own, the soup tastes good. But it's when you break open the egg and swirl the yolk into the soup that the magic happens. Do not, under any circumstances, skip the poached egg!

Kale Soup with Poached Egg

1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press
1/4 t. dried thyme leaves
4 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 c.)
1 bunch curly kale, center ribs removed, leaves chopped
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
4 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. dijon mustard
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground pepper
poached eggs (1 per serving)

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onions and sautee, stirring frequently, until quite soft and golden brown, around 10 minutes or so. Add in garlic and thyme and sautee briefly, 30 seconds. Add green onions and kale and continue to sautee until the kale has wilted slightly, around 3-5 minutes.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot (not the eggs) and simmer until the kale is quite tender, 10-15 minutes. Don't let it simmer forever, though, you want the kale to retain its bright green color.

Using an immersion blender, you can blend it all together right in the soup pot. Otherwise, let it cool slightly and puree it in batches in a blender. Return to pot and keep warm.

In a separate pan, poach however many eggs you need. I like 1 egg for about 1/2 c. serving of soup. If you want a bigger bowl of soup I would probably add another egg so the yolk doesn't get lost. Ladle soup into bowls and carefully slide poached egg on top of each serving.

And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat…
And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!
So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!
I do so like green eggs and kale!