Bean and Kale Soup
I took many liberties with this. Cooking times can also be very approximate.
Original ingredients:
- oil for sauteeing
- 8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cups chopped raw kale
- 4 cups chicken broth [I used less for a stew-like texture.]
- 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or navy, undrained [I used pinto, because that’s what we had.]
- 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning [I threw in a random mix of basil, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, in addition to rosemary-sage herb salt.]
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup chopped parsley [I didn’t have fresh, so I food-processed a smaller amount of frozen parsley together with the beans.]
Additional ingredients – not required :~)
- frozen peas, tossed in towards the end (very nice)
- shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot broth and chopped (add the broth as well)
- chicken better-than-bouillion dissolved in a bit of water (for extra flavor)
- tomato paste dissolved in a bit of water (extra flavor)
- a little miso paste (extra flavor)
- a little soy sauce (extra flavor)
- parmesan rind (extra flavor)
- 2 eggs, added raw towards the end and quickly mixed in
- grated parmesan (topping at the table)
- hot sauce (topping at the table)
- sourdough bread (topping at the table – drop pieces into soup or eat on the side)