Homestyle Bean and Kale Soup
By: Leah Rodrigues
Published: January 13, 2013

Kale and bean soup is a delicious way to eat more vegetables.  This light and healthy soup is packed with nutrition, the kale alone is rich in calcium and vitamin C.  Great Northern beans, or white beans, are cooked with a ton of veggies in water that has been flavored with rosemary, garlic, and onion.  You can also use vegetable stock.  Serve this soup with some crusty bread to soak up all the rich broth.  Kale and Bean soup is an easy meal you can throw together any night of the week.  
Bean and Kale Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 pound dried Great Northern beans
Water as needed
Olive oil as needed
	1 onion chopped
	2 small carrots chopped
	1 celery stalk chopped
	4 cups shredded kale - (1 small bunch)
	1 boiling potato diced
	2 cups chopped Swiss chard bunch - (1 small bunch
	1 lrg tomato diced
	2 garlic cloves minced
	2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
	1 tablespoon minced parsley
	1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt to taste
	Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
	1 cup Freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Place beans in large saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Let stand at room temperature overnight.
Drain beans well and return to saucepan. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 1 hour 30 minutes, reserving liquid. Transfer half beans to food processor or blender and puree. Reserve remaining whole beans.
Heat1/4 cup oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute 5 minutes. Stir in kale, potato, pureed beans and enough reserved bean cooking liquid and water to make 6 cups. Heat over medium heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 30 minutes.
Add chard, tomato, garlic, rosemary, parsley, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until chard is tender and flavors are well blended, at least 1 hour, adding additional bean liquid if soup is too thick. (Soup should be quite thick.)
Stir in reserved whole beans and simmer until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. (Can be cooled and refrigerated overnight.) Ladle into heated soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Pass olive oil to top soup with, if desired.
This recipe yields 8 to 10 servings.