Kale and White Bean Minestrone
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons unrefined cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks of celery chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste I like Bionaturae
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped (measure the rosemary, then chop)
- 3 ½ cups of cooked white beans such as Cannellini or Great Northern or 2 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed* click here to learn how to make your beans from scratch
- 2 teaspoons sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste You will need about 3 teaspoons of salt if your stock is unsalted.
- piece of rind from Parmesan cheese if you have it, otherwise don’t worry about it
- 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock preferably homemade or 4 cups stock + 2 cups water
- 6 cups of stemmed coarsely chopped kale or Swiss chard leaves*
- Accompaniments: serve with garlic toast a drizzle of olive oil and/or grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Warm oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion, carrots, celery and garlic and sauté until tender and translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Add the white beans, salt, pepper and parmesan rind. Try to mash a few of the beans in the pot. This will help thicken the soup later.
- Pour in the stock. Raise the heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Lower heat so that soup gently simmers and partially cover the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes (or longer if you want), or until vegetables are tender.
- Stir in kale leaves and simmer another 8 minutes or until kale is tender. Taste for seasoning and serve with or without desired accompaniments.
Notes
*Or you can use 1 can of beans and 1 pound of chopped Yukon Gold potatoes.
**If you use Swiss chard, separate the stems from the leaves before starting the recipe and chop both. Sauté the chopped stems with the onions and add the chopped leaves at the end.