HOMECOMING BEAN AND KALE SOUP

We are back from our long visit to Lodi, California. We had a great time and returned with a trunk filled with bottles of wine that we found at some of the more than 80 wineries in the Lodi area. We plowed through two days of rain and snow with tense times on the passes in Tehachapi, California and Flagstaff, Arizona.

When we got home, the cupboard was bare – or nearly so – requiring a little innovation on my part to come up with something to eat. I fell back on a post that I had just read a few days before. Diane Darrow writes an interesting blog, Another Year in Recipes. She lives in New York City but has spent much time in Italy and has authored two Italian cookbooks. She wrote of making a bean soup from one of her cookbooks when she was snowed in during the recent NYC blizzard. You should definitely check out her blog.

This is not Diane’s recipe, but it is certainly inspired by hers. I confess that I had run out of ditali and had to turn to elbow macaroni. I also had to run to the market for a bunch of kale, but otherwise everything else was in the pantry or in the little cooler we always carry in our car. The next day I went back to the store for a marathon journey through the aisles.

 RECIPE

Bean and Kale Soup

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup dry black-eyed peas
• 2/3 cup dry black beans
• 2/3 cup dry red beans
• olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• ½ cup celery chopped
• ½ cup carrots, grated
• 1 quart beef stock
• 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
• 1 tablespoon rubbed sage
• salt and pepper
• 1 bunch kale
• ½cup elbow macaroni
• 2/3 cup Parmesan, freshly grated
• extra virgin olive oil (your best)

Method

1. Pick over the beans, removing any stones, and place in a large, lidded, heavy pot. Cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, for two minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and set aside until the pot has cooled. Drain the beans and set aside.
2. Rinse and dry the pot. Heat 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sweat, covered, for about 5 minutes. Do not brown. Stir in the celery, carrots, reserved beans, beef stock, and tomato sauce. Bring to the boil and then simmer covered for about 1 hour.
3. Add the garlic, mushrooms, seasoning blend, sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer, covered. Add water if needed.
4. Meanwhile, wash the kale. Remove the stems and center ribs, soaking the leaves in cold water for an hour. Cut the kale into 3 x 3 inch pieces and add to the soup pot. Cover and continue to cook for another hour, stirring occasionally. About 15 minutes before you are ready to serve, stir in the macaroni.
5. When the beans are soft, and the kale has cooked down, correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls, top with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.