Winter Garden Kale Soup

With signs of spring bursting forth - a little early, but who's complaining - I'm ready to plant peas, spinach and radishes. To make room, the last of the winter greens have gotta go. That means you, kale.

This easy and nutritious soup gets a lift with a garnish of sheep and goat feta, toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of the finest extra virgin olive oil.

Saute leeks, celery, garlic and thyme. Add potato and chicken stock and simmer until all the flavours meld, around 35 - 40 minutes.

Once the kale leaves are cleaned - pick off the longer stalks - roughly chop and add to the soup.

Get out your handy-dandy hand blender and blend the ingredients until smooth. Taste and season to taste with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Toast some pine nuts.

Serve and top each bowl with a spoon of cheese, a sprinkle of nuts and a drizzle of olive oil.

Groove on all that vitamin-rich kale.

Winter Garden Kale Soup

2 leeks, cleaned and chopped, using the white and - gasp! -the green part

1 clove garlic, minced

2 sticks celery, chopped

1 T. fresh thyme leaves

1 T. extra virgin olive oil and extra for garnish

6 cups of chicken stock

2 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and quartered

5 cups (firmly packed) baby kale leaves, cleaned and roughly chopped

2 T. pine nuts, roasted

1/4 cup sheep and goat feta

In your favourite soup pot, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the leeks, garlic, celery and thyme and saute briefly until the leeks soften slightly. Add the potatoes and stir to combine. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, clean the kale leaves, picking off any long stems. Wash and dry throughly and roughly chop. Set aside. Toast the pine nuts in a dry cast iron pan. Set aside.

Add the kale leaves to the soup after 35 minutes. Heat through and allow the kale to wilt and soften, around 5 minutes. Hand blend the soup until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Divvy out the soup in bowls. Add a piece of feta to the middle of the bowl, sprinkle with pine nuts and drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy. It's good for you.