{"id":4415,"date":"2017-08-16T18:01:13","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T18:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yousaytomatocooking.com\/?post_type=recipe&p=4415"},"modified":"2022-11-11T12:15:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T12:15:18","slug":"white-bean-kale-parmesan-soup","status":"publish","type":"recipe","link":"https:\/\/cookwithgem.com\/recipe\/white-bean-kale-parmesan-soup\/","title":{"rendered":"white bean, kale and Parmesan soup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This white bean, kale and Parmesan soup has been upping my and my boys’ veg quota all week. We got back from two lovely weeks on holiday in New England on Sunday. I don’t know about you but I always come back from holiday wanting to force-feed myself with veg. I try my best when we’re away but the lure of fries rather than greens as a side dish is one I struggle to resist. So I atone when I return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We landed back to our veg patch overflowing with kale, chard and spinach as well as our first apples and courgettes. So exciting. My brain whirred into action at the sight of all that kale and having seen kale soup on the menu in Cape Cod – something to do with the early Portuguese settlers – I was craving something similar, simple but gutsy. This white bean, kale and Parmesan soup recipe took about 30 mins of hands-on cooking and gave us plenty of leftovers for the freezer. Win win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to turn white bean, kale and Parmesan soup into a family dinner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I know a few people panic at the thought of soup for dinner. But my boys and husband gobbled this up. We often base our dinner around a big pan of soup<\/a> with some extras. I made it more of a meal by serving it with a sliced room temperature tomato<\/a> and basil salad – dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt flakes and black pepper and topped with a ball of burrata<\/em> (extra creamy mozzarella). You can see my video of my perfect caprese salad<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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We eat the salad out of shallow serving bowls first and then put the soup in the same bowls. I could pretend I do this so the juices from the tomato mingle beautifully with the soup…but really it’s to save washing dishes. A hunk of warmed, gutsy bread is essential to dunk in both the salad and the soup.<\/p>\n\n\n

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If you’re cooking for children who have issues with chunky soup, use a stick blender to blend theirs. If greenery is the issue, make this pesto<\/a> with spinach, kale or rocket and stir that through at the end of cooking instead of adding the chopped greens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole family ate everything and it cost about \u00a31.50 ($2) per serving even with that fancy burrata cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secret ingredients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Parmesan rind I add to the soup adds an essential savoury flavour. You need something to give the soup guts and this is it. I keep the ends of pieces of Parmesan in the freezer in a little bag and use them from frozen in bolognese, stews and soups. If you don’t have a leftover rind, the cheese counter at the supermarket should furnish you with one. Or just chop one off a new block of Parmesan and use the rest to grate. They impart their flavour (like cheese teabags) and then you pull them out before serving. Or if you have tricky children at the table, leave the rind in and tell them that the person who finishes their soup and finds the rind gets a prize. Whatever it takes people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And on the other end of the flavour spectrum, a final sprinkle of red wine vinegar brightens up the finished soup. Taste it before and after you add it and you’ll see what I mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients for white bean, kale and Parmesan soup<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Serves 4 adults as dinner or 2 adults and 2 children with leftovers for the freezer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hands on cooking time 30 minutes. Total cooking time 70-90 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note – package sizes very between shops and countries. This recipe works well with a bit too much, or a bit less of these ingredients.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n