Beans and greens, do they ever steer you wrong? Tossed with pasta, spiced and draped over rice, or turned into a simple soup like this one, if it’s cold outside and you don’t know what to make for dinner, beans and greens have your back. Here, they mingle with your core soup vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, potato…), simmering together to form a healthy, hearty, satisfying bowl of warm comfort.

The instructions are roughly as follows: Throw all the ingredients in a pot, cover with water, and simmer for awhile. Ok, maybe there are a few more steps. Still though, this is incredibly simple, so while you might have to wait a bit for dinner to be ready, you will do very little work in the process.

I always prefer a soup that develops its own broth, rather than using a boxed starter (though for times-sake, I do sometimes appreciate the benefits of that route). This one has a light, clean flavor that keeps the focus on the vegetables. The soup itself is also highly adaptable. Feel free to add any other herbs you like, and swap in different beans…or greens. I call for cannellini, but couldn’t find them this time so ended up using a mix of great northern and navy beans. Sometimes I add cabbage, but usually prefer just the kale. And while you know I am a big fan of tomato paste, a small can of crushed tomatoes (or sauce or puree) would work too.

White Bean and Kale soup

Recipe by Too Many SpoonsCourse: DinnerCuisine: Soup

Servings

6

servings

Cost

20

$

Total time

1

hour 

5

minutes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 leeks, white and pale green parts, thinly sliced

• 2 carrots, diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 2 yellow potatoes, diced

• 4 sprigs thyme

• Leaves from 1 bunch Tuscan kale, chopped

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• 3 tbsp tomato paste

• 2 cans cannellini beans, or other white bean

• Grated parmesan, to serve

Directions

• In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high until shimmering.
• Add the onion, garlic, leeks, carrots, celery, potatoes, and thyme, and cook until just starting to soften, about 5 minutes.
• Add the kale, season with the salt and pepper, stir, and cook until the leaves are wilted and all the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to low, add the tomato paste, stir well to coat, and cook for 5 more minutes.
• Add the beans, and cover with 6-8 cups water, depending on the size of your pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes. (By the end, the leaves will have fallen off the thyme sprigs, so if you can find them, extract the branches before serving). Taste and season with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
• Serve topped with parmesan, with toasted garlic bread on the side.

Recipe Notes

• Adapted from the Ribollita in Mario Batali’s “Molto Italiano” cookbook