Healthy soup never tasted so good
Back before I was a vegetarian, I had a wonderful kale soup at a little Portuguese cafe in southeastern Massachusetts.
It was a delicious combination of sharp, green leafy kale, soft potatoes and a spicy chorizo sausage that got me hooked on the soup. For a long time after giving up meat, I avoided the soup because I thought the sausage was an integral part of the dish. It added just the right spice and texture. I tried it a few times with the soy version of the meat, but that just didn't cut it.
So, I ate kale in other ways until I found this recipe for a very similar soup with cannellini beans and some red hot chili peppers.
Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamins K and C, lutein, zeaxathin and reasonably rich in calcium. It's full of anti-oxidants and, some studies say, it even stops the growth of cancer cells.
And it tastes delicious.
If you've never tried kale, this soup is a great place to start.
Kale and Canellini Soup
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, diced
3/4 cups of carrots, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of water
1 cups of white wine
3 potatoes, halved and sliced
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of sage, chopped
1/2 teaspoon of thyme, chopped
16 ounces of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups of finely chopped kale leaves
1 small red chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
ground pepper, to taste
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Cook and stir the onion until it’s softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrot and the garlic, and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Pour in the vegetable broth, the water, and the white wine. Stir in the potatoes, the rosemary, the sage, and the thyme.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the cannelini beans, kale, chili pepper, and the ground pepper.
- Simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes.
