Rosemary Potato and Kale Vegetable Soup

Rosemary is definitely one of my all time favorite herbs. It makes everything better from bread, cheese (grilled cheese!), homemade popcorn, potatoes, chicken, and even cocktails! The one thing I hadn't tried was in soup. I was in the mood for a good soup and almost made up a new chili (that will also happen soon), but I had rosemary on the brain. I tried to pick vegetables that I thought rosemary would compliment. Sadly, I was unable to get parsnips, but I would recommend adding them in as well if you can. If you don't like rosemary, this soup is not for you, but the flavor is in no way over-powering. The photo is from right after I made it, but now it is two days later and the broth has definitely thickened up a bit which I like.

Note that I like to made a crazy amount at once and then freeze part of it. You can easily cut the recipe down as desired.

Rosemary Potato and Kale Vegetable Soup
How I Did It:

1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large red potatoes, chopped
6 celery ribs, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
30 oz (no salt added) diced tomatoes
3/4 tsp black pepper
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
64 oz low sodium vegetable broth
1 zucchini, chopped
15 oz navy beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz green pigeon peas, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of red kale (any variety would work), removed from stems

1. Heat two tablespoons of water into a large pot. Once the water is heated, add in onion and garlic and cook until the onion is softened, stirring occasionally. 

2. Stir in potatoes and celery and cook for about 5 minutes. 

3. Add in carrots, diced tomatoes (not drained), and 1/2 tsp black pepper and let cook for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Throw full rosemary sprigs in, stir around and then add broth, zucchini, beans, peas, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Stir to combine and turn up the heat and cover. Once it starts to almost boil, turn the heat down, but not too much below medium.

5. Let cook for at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the rosemary (it will fall off stems). 

6. Remove rosemary twigs (pulling off any pieces of rosemary that might remain), mix in kale, stir to combine and cook for another 10 minutes.

7. Serve!