Tuscan Black Cabbage and Pork Soup (p. 129)

It's cold and wet and dreary in Raleigh today, which makes it a perfect day for a hearty soup. I actually used kale for this as a substitute for the black cabbage since I received a large head of it in my CSA box this week.

Set some chicken stock to simmer in a large pot, and, separately, cook small cubes of pork in olive oil until they're nice and brown.

Add the meat to the now simmering stock.

Sauté thinly cut onions in the remaining olive oil. I got four small onions from my CSA and they're beautiful, so I was excited to use them.

I have a huge head of local garlic that has been adding great flavor to all my dishes, so I tossed some of that in too, along with a crumbled dried chili. Once everything was softened it went into the stock as well.

Lastly, stir in salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and the slivered kale. Cover the dish and leave for about 15 minutes, until the kale is completely cooked. Serve with a little cheese on top.

This was great -- I wasn't expecting to really enjoy it but I did. The garlic and chili pepper added a great kick. I only made half the recipe, which I don't recommend -- there wasn't really enough stock to make that quantity, so my soup doesn't have a huge liquid base to it, but it's still scrumptious.

CSA kale -- $1.58

pork -- $1.50

CSA onion -- $.79

parsley -- $.89

Total Cost of Tuscan Black Cabbage and Pork Soup: $4.76

($1.59 per serving)