Creamy Rosemary Potato and Kale Soup

Have you ever heard of a different way of preparing an old favorite and wondered "why in the hell didn't anyone tell me this before?"

My favorite partner in nerdery at work just BLEW.my.mind.

She suggested I roast my potatoes and other root vegetables in the oven before throwing them in to a recipe like soup or mashers.

Huh.  Never thunk of that.

We've been growing fresh herbs on our back patio in a container garden, so fresh rosemary, oregano, and basil is just  begging to garnish a dish.  So, I picked a crapton of rosemary (hence the name) and got started.

Creamy Rosemary Potato and Kale Soup

6 medium Red Potatoes
1/4 cup Rosemary
1/4 cup minced Garlic
3T fresh ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 massive bundle of Organic Kale
1 container unsweetened Almond Milk
1 1/2 cup Water
1/8 cup Cornstarch
Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F.

The first matter of business is to infuse the olive oil with herby goodness.  I put all of the garlic, rosemary, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl then poured the olive oil on top.  After stirring violently with a fork, I let it sit to the side while I chopped up potatoes!

I cubed the potatoes into happy little morsels then tossed in the wonderfully herby oil.  I evenly spread them out on a cookie sheet and baked for 25 minutes at 400F.  It filled our home with such amazing aromas.  It was hard to not gobble these little taters up...

Now, I have to admit.  I have never, ever attempted to cook with cornstarch before.  I was raised to make cream sauce with butter and flour, like a proper young West Michigan lady should.  So this was treading new waters for me.  *EEEEK!*

I dutifully mixed 1/8 cup cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold almond milk while the remainder of the milk warmed on the stove with the water.  When the mixture came to a boil, I stirred in my cornstarch concoction and continued to stir slowly until it returned to a boil.

When my soup base reached a creamy, happy texture, I added my chopped kale and roasted potatoes and let simmer for 15 minutes.

After all that simmerin' I decided to toss in another 1/8 cup garlic and way more sea salt.  It could have done without, but I'm a garlic freak.  Here is the end result:

Hearty and delicious!

I wish I could say it was love at first bite, however, my palate still hasn't adapted to veganhood :-).  After a couple of bites though, I was totally into the texture and flavor.  I am going to go ahead and call this evening's dish a win!