Smoky white bean kale soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 5 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from the stems
- 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes (adjust to taste)
- 2 cans (540 milliliters each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or 4 cups cooked cannellini beans)
- 3 cups loosely packed stemmed and roughly chopped kale
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for one to two minutes until fragrant. Add the celery and carrots and cook for three minutes, stirring frequently.
- Pour in the vegetable stock, add the bay leaf, thyme, paprika, salt, black pepper, chili flakes, and cannellini beans, and bring to a gentle boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and tender, stirring halfway through.
- Remove the bay leaf. Transfer four cups of the soup to a high-speed blender and purée for ten seconds. Pour the puréed soup back into the pot. Stir in the kale and lemon juice and simmer for another five minutes.
- Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for up to one month.
