Balanced Living

Kale and White Bean Soup

Posted by Arja on February 12 in Soups and Stews

Weeknights are busy for most people, whether you have children or not.  There are late nights at the office, extracurricular activities, dogs that need to be walked and the list goes on.  Sometimes, the idea of trying to pull together a quick, healthy meal seems impossible.  We have many of those nights around here and our 2 year old son and 2 year old Beagle make every night a busy night whether anything else happens or not!

I love weeknight recipes that don’t call for too many ingredients and that don’t take long to prepare but they have to taste good too!  This kale and white bean soup is delicious, healthy and can easily be converted into vegetarian and non-vegetarian versions with a few small changes.

When I made this earlier in the week I had some leftover roasted garlic and a very small amount of my roasted cherry tomatoes in the fridge so I added them in with delicious results.  Play around with this recipe and you’ll find out just how versatile it is.

Kale and White Bean Soup
Adapted from Bob Green’s “The Best Life Diet”

1 bunch kale (black lacinato kale works best, but curly leaf will work fine too)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or roasted garlic smushed up)
1 pinch chili pepper flakes (substitute red pepper flakes if you don’t want the mild heat)
2 cups cooked navy beans (or 1 15oz can drained and rinsed)
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups water (feel free to use more stock and less water if you prefer)
1 ½ cups chopped carrot (approx. 4 medium)
1 generous glug of white wine (optional)
1 tsp dried oregano
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Step 1 –Wash kale well.  Remove leaves from centre stems and discard.  Slice into thin ribbons and set aside.

Step 2 – Heat oil in a heavy stockpot over medium-low and sauté the onion, stirring occasionally, until is begins to caramelize (approx.. 15 mins).  DO NOT SKIP/RUSH THIS STEP!  Add the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and sauté for another minute.

Step 3 – Add the beans, carrots, broth, water, and wine (if using) and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer.

Step 4 – Add the kale and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until it is tender (approx.. 15 mins).  Season with salt and pepper.

Step 5 – Put into serving bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese.

Yummy Options:

-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (add in at Step 3)
-Sausage (sauté 1 or 2 good quality sausages and remove from pot before starting onions.  (Add back in at Step 3)
-Roasted garlic (use instead of regular)

There are endless ways you could amp up this soup recipe, so as long as they’re healthy options let your imagination run wild!