Kale and White Bean Soup
This article was written by guest contributor Max Aronson. Read more about Max on on our contributors page.
When I was sentenced to an indefinite amount of time locked down in my apartment, I immediately started cooking to keep me busy, and I keep finding myself craving food that is hearty, flavorful, and warm. The first thing I made in quarantine – and Instagram tells me I am not alone – was banana bread, but a sedentary lifestyle can only take so many pastries and cheesy pasta dishes. So here I am, thinking about soup and how it can feel like the warm hug I need when the closest I can get to another living person is 6 feet.
Check out the recipe below!
Yield : 2 servings
Ingredients
1 Sweet Onion: small diced
2 Medium Carrots: peeled and small diced
1 Stalk Celery: small diced
4 Cloves Garlic: minced
4 Cups Kale: (I used a large bag, I'm guessing it’s 4 cups), cut into 2-inch pieces
1 Lemon: zested and juiced
12 oz Can Diced Tomatoes
2 15oz Cans Cannellini Beans: drained and rinsed
½ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Salt
6 Cups Vegetable Broth
Extra Virgin Olive Oil: you can use other oils you have available
Parmesan Cheese: not necessary, but definitely yummy
Preparation:
In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil and add onions, carrots, and celery. Stir often and cook until tender and the edges begin to brown. Add garlic and mix until aromatic.
Add the juice and zest of the lemon, quickly add the kale, and cover for 3 minutes until the kale reduces in volume a bit. I work quickly because I want the steam created from the lemon juice to cook and flavor the kale.
Mix all of the vegetables until the kale is incorporated and add the tomato, beans, pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Pour the vegetable broth into the pot, stir, and cover. Simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes. Serve with shaved parmesan cheese.
Best Practices:
As always:
Avoid packaged produce, or really anything packaged for that matter. This is not to say that you’ll always have the option, but when you do, go for it! For example, you may sometimes see kale or carrots in plastic bags. These are all very often available sans any container, so take the opportunity to use your hands, smell the produce, build that relationship with your ingredients!
Try to bring your own bags when you go shopping for these ingredients, and look for ways to buy them from local producers.
Make sure you’re not buying more than you think you’ll reasonably use! Ingredients like the kale will last about a week so make sure you buy with care! However, ingredients like garlic, beans, and tomatoes can last a long time in your pantry (but not forever), so if you buy more than you need, you’ll likely have plenty of other opportunities to use them.
These ingredients have been chosen with several things in mind:
Most of these ingredients are household staples that are relatively inexpensive and last a long time. If you don’t already have garlic, canned beans, or tomatoes, these are amazing staples in any pantry and can add so much flavor and substance to any number of recipes/dishes.
This soup recipe is Tuscan-inspired, and I like to think about keeping meals local. Serve it up with other Tuscan pasta dishes, which so often are packed with hearty vegetables.
This recipe was adapted to be vegetarian by swapping out chicken broth for vegetable broth. It can easily be made vegan by omitting the parmesan cheese.
Looking for a way to use up food scraps and save some money? You can save all of the vegetable scraps from the onions, carrots, and celery to make your own veggie stock for next time! Just cover the vegetables with water and simmer for an hour or two until flavorful. I keep vegetable scraps in my freezer until I have enough to make a big batch.
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let us know! If you really loved it, share it on social media and tag us (@groundedgrub), or, better yet, share it with your friends and family!
