Lentil, Potato and Kale Stem Soup

This soup was invented because of the crazy amounts of Kale Chips I have been making the past month. When making kale chips, you don't use the stems (as I normally would when cooking with kale) so I built up quite a bag of leftover stems which I didn't quite know how to prepare sans their leafy sidekicks. Soup to the rescue! The kale stems become a whole other vegetable in here....

Lentil, Potato and Kale Stem Soup
Makes at least 6 bowls of soup

4-5 large potatoes, washed and diced
4 cups chopped kale stems
1 cup split red lentils, rinsed
8 cups water
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
pinch of crushed chills, to taste
1 tbsp dried rosemary
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper
5 tbsp tahini

In the bottom of a soup pot, heat olive oil on medium-low heat and cook potatoes for 2 minutes. Add kale stems and sauté another minute, add in water, lentils, tomatoes, garlic and spices (no salt and pepper yet!) Turn heat to high, bring to boil and reduce heat to low, then simmer till veggies are cooked, stirring occasionally - about 20-30 minutes.

Once everything is tender, turn off the heat, stir in the tahini, add salt and pepper, and adjust for seasonings.

Great for rainy weather!