A Wyoming Winter Rescue: The Ultimate Ham, Potato, and Kale Soup
🍜 January is Offically National Soup Month…and for Good Reason
After the busy, often over-indulgent holiday season, January arrives cold and quiet, prompting us to reach for warmth, simplicity, and efficiency in the kitchen. The refrigerator is filled with holiday leftovers begging to be used and most of us are exhausted from the holiday festivities. We could all use something simple that provides warmth and comfort.
Soup is the perfect post-holiday antidote. It’s inherently comforting, demands little fuss, and perhaps its greatest superpower is making the most of leftovers. That forgotten ham bone, the last of the holiday turkey, or the vegetables that are about to turn—they all find a glorious, new purpose simmering in a savory broth bringing that feeling of comfort to the home. A batch of hearty soup is the ultimate culinary reset button, providing nourishing, inexpensive meals for days.
🏔️ A Taste of Rescue: Comfort for the Boys of “El Camino del Destino”
If you’ve read my book, El Camino del Destino, you know the relief that was provided to Tristan, Pete, Eliu and their families from steaming bowls of hominy soup after experiencing a brutal snowstorm in Wyoming.
In my story, the young boys and their families endure a terrifying ordeal when they are stranded in the unforgiving heart of a Wyoming winter storm. The boys and their families are exposed, exhausted, desperately cold and worried about surviving through the night until they are finally located and rescued by the National Guard.
The first meal they received after being pulled from the snow, and housed in the National Guard barracks was nothing fancy, but it was all they needed to provide them with a feeling of safety and comfort. It was something simple, hot, and instantly restorative, something that could feed plenty of people who were extracted from the snowstorm—the definition of comfort - soup.
This holiday leftover recipe for my, Ham, Potato, Kale and Carrot Soup is something that the boys’ moms might have also made for their families due to its simple, inexpensive and hearty ingredients. The savory ham offers much-needed protein and fat, the potatoes provide carbohydrates for energy, the carrots and kale are hearty vegetables that are easy to grow and the hot broth is the warming base of it all. They would have served theirs with tortillas.
When you settle down with your bowl of soup this National Soup Month, remember that this humble dish is more than just food. It’s a symbol of survival, care, and the deep, comfort that envelopes you like a loved one’s embrace when you are snowbound, yet safe from danger. It’s the taste of feeling safe and warm.
This one pot dish of Ham, Potato, Kale & Carrot Soup is a delicious comforting meal on a chilly winter day. It’s a quick, simple, hearty recipe that’s guaranteed to warm you right up!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 8 cups (give or take)
Ingredients
3 c Carrots, peeled and sliced
5 c Russet Potatoes, peeled and cubed (approx. 4 medium to large potatoes)
1 c Chopped Ham
8 c Chicken Stock (you can use 1/2 water here instead)
3 c Baby Kale coursely chopped
1 medium onion chopped
Kosher Salt and Cracked Black Pepper, to taste
Instructions
🥕 Step 1: Sauté the Ham and Vegetables
Add the chopped ham into your large pot. Let it brown for about 5 minutes.
Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot; stir and sauté for about 5 minutes until tender.
🥔 Step 2: Simmer the Soup Base
Cover the mixture with the chicken stock (or 1/2 stock and 1/2 water) and bring to a simmer.
Next, add the diced potatoes.
Season according to taste and simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
🥬 Step 3: Finish
Add the kale and let simmer for another 15 minutes.
🥣 Step 4: Serve
Taste the soup and adjust for seasoning if needed.
Serve hot with cornbread topped with my Spicy Cranberry Salsa!
Buen Provecho!