Kale & Navy Bean Soup

Be it raining, cold, or you simply feel off nothing beats a bowl of homemade soup. The building blocks of most soups are rather simplistic and come from both tried and true methods and much validation from home cooks everywhere. Adding ingredients to soup is easy, knowing why one ingredient is selected over another is a matter of personal preference. Todays’ soup du jour is a vegetable soup bulked up with navy beans and kale. This nutritious and delicious bowl will surely have you and those at your table asking for seconds, if not the recipe.

I would have to guess that almost all great soups, and some great dishes, start out with a mirepoix. A blend of three vegetables, sweated down and boiled. Onions, celery and carrots make up the mixture and I cannot begin to count how many times I have made a batch or two in my kitchen. The harmonious blend of flavours offers a welcome base that can be taken in many different directions, but it all begins with a mirepoix.

Adding your own personal touch to soup is never difficult. Historically if it was available to be used, it went in the pot. Soup is an easy way to use up leftovers, knowing how to balance flavours is key to turning a good soup into a great one. For our soup this week the featured ingredient was kale. A bitter green that can stand up to the abuse some soups can dish out to other, softer greens such as spinach. In addition to its rigidity kale is an excellent source of many nutrients and minerals our bodies need. Extremely low in fat and quite high in both vitamins A and C this is an easy way to boost the nutrition of any dish. The beans add bulk to an otherwise relatively light soup. Anyone who has ever been on a diet will tell you the fastest way to get someone to cheat or snack is to not offer enough food at a meal. Beans also bring with it very valuable fibre, which is typically lacking in our diets today.

Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked navy beans

2 cups chopped kale

4 cups vegetable stock

½ cup diced onion

½ cup diced celery

½ cup diced carrot

2 Tbsp. butter

½ Tbsp. dried parsley

½ Tbsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. table salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

• Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat
• Add celery, onion and carrots. Cook until onions are translucent (clear)
• Incorporate vegetable stock and all other ingredients, reduce heat.
• Let simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve.

 

This soup featuring kale and navy beans has a good pinch of heat and a large dose of home cooking. Starting with a solid base and building up from there is the secret to nearly any dish ever made. In snow, in rain, in health and in sickness this soup has something for any occasion.

Related Articles: