Kale & White Bean Soup

Words & Photography
by Krissy Tosi



This recipe for Kale & White Bean Soup is for those days when you feel like you have spent the entirety of it facing into the wind. I have made it possibly hundreds of times - I don't measure anything, I don't count or figure, I just do. And in doing, it has become less of a recipe and more like a salve.

It is a soup to warm the belly, clear away the cobwebs, and bring you back into yourself. The cumin and vinegar are the important parts really. You could use anything on hand otherwise (cabbage if not kale, kidneys if not cannellini, faro instead of potato) but below is my preferred ingredient list.





Kale & White Bean Soup
serves 4(ish)

Ingredients

1 large bunch of lacianto kale, chopped
1 16oz can cannellini beans
3 medium potatoes, chopped into 1/4 pieces (preferably scrubbed with skin on)
4 cups good quality stock
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
knob of ghee (or butter or evoo)
salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large stock pot saute chopped onion in the ghee over low heat until soft and transparent.
2. Add minced garlic and cook a few minutes more.
3. Add in the cumin and toast until fragrant.
4. Pour in the red wine vinegar. Cook until liquid is reduced by half and then add in the chopped potatoes.
5. Saute a few minutes more stirring to coat the potatoes in the butter and vinegar mixture.
6. Add the stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender and nearly cooked.
7. Then add the kale, cannellini beans and salt & pepper to taste.
8. Simmer until kale is tender and potatoes are cooked through.
9. Serve topped with a slice or two of parmigiano reggiano, a drizzle of olive oil, and crusty bread.