Leafy Greens♥

I have a 10 cup bag of kale in my refrigerator. Yes, sadly, this is my sort of impulse buy. Whatever, at least I'm not hoarding candy bars.

I wanted to make a nice, hearty soup. It's been (Florida) cold lately, and it just sounded like such a good idea.
So.
I heated some olive oil in my big pot. To that, I added 1 finely chopped yellow onion, finely sliced fennel bulb, and 3 cloves of minced garlic. Then I added about 1/2 cup of uncooked mezze penne pasta, and let that brown, so it would taste nice and nutty. Once the pasta was browned and the veggies were soft, I tossed in 8 cups of kale, a handful of fresh rosemary, salt & pepper, a Parmigiano Reggiano rind (yup), 4 cups of chicken broth, and 4 cups of water. Bring that up to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8 more minutes and you've got some awesome soup.

Garnish with some thin slices of Parmigiano Reggiano, I used my vegetable peeler for mine.
I know that the whole rind thing sounds weird, but oh wow does it give this soup a great flavor. Be sure to take it easy with the salt, and use low sodium chicken broth, as the cheese is salty, and kale has a tendency to taste bitter.
What a great meal for a cold day!