White Bean and Greens Soup

The kale and chard at the market spoke to me so I bought them. It was cold and I started thinking "soup."

I knew there was vegetable stock in the freezer of an unknown flavor because it was made with a 2-gallon bag full of frozen vegetable parts.

As I hadn't thought ahead and made beans, I picked up a couple of cans of cannellini beans at the store.

The resulting hearty soup fed 4 well with some leftovers.

Servings: 5

Ingredients

1 bunch kale, very coarsely chopped (maybe fun for kids using the plastic lettuce knife which won’t cut them)
1/2 bunch chard, very coarsely chopped
1 big yellow onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
5 medium tomatoes, large dice
6 cups vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons mixture of dried herbs like thyme, basil, marjoram, oregano
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup coarsely minced parsley
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Sauté the onion for a few minutes until beginning to soften. Add the garlic and chili flakes and sauté another minute.
Stir in the tomatoes, kale, chard, and about 2/3 of the beans.
Add 5 cups of stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes.
Purée the remaining beans with the last cup of stock in a blender and add to the soup.
Simmer another 15 minutes or until the kale is tender.
If you have a handheld immersion blender, you can “blenderize” the soup some more to make it thicker. Alternatively, you can add some of the soup to a blender, purée it, and return it to the pot. (Be sure to leave an opening in the lid so the steam escapes and the top doesn’t blow off.)
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Stir in the parsley and serve.