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–+ servings
Overhead shot of a bowl of Tuscan soup.

Lemon White Bean Kale Soup

Naturopath Lauren Glucina
A grounding Tuscan-style, garlicky Lemon White Bean Kale Soup, prepared from scratch using whole dried beans. True soul food and best enjoyed with a rustic knob of sourdough. Vegan.
Serves 2. Note prep time is 20 minutes + the 12 hour soak time if using dried beans.
4.48 from 21 votes
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Soup, Stew
Cuisine French, Gluten free, Healthy, Plant-based, Vegan
Servings 2
Calories 574 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g cannellini beans dried (see notes re. using canned, pre-cooked beans)
  • 5 cups water
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large white onion diced
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon thyme dried
  • 1 inch strip kombu
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 small potatoes peeled and cubed (about ¾ cup)
  • 1 cup kale very tightly packed (preferably Lacinato kale, curly kale isn't as nice a texture)
  • Juice and zest of one lemon

Instructions
 

  • Soak dried beans in ample water (they will double in size) for at least 12 hours, the drain and rinse, ready to cook.
  • In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook diced onion till soft and golden.
  • Add water and stock, dried beans, garlic, thyme, kombu and bay leaves. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 40 minutes.
  • While the soup base cooks, wash kale, remove tough inner stalks, then slice into thin one inch ribbons – take your time with this, it is far nicer to have small delicate pieces.
  • After 30 minutes, add the potato, and leave to simmer for a further 10-15 minutes, at which point, both beans and potatoes should be soft. Fish out the bay leaves and kombu and discard. Now use a potato masher to carefully mash the beans/potatoes so about half of them are mashed and half whole (if beans/potatoes aren’t soft yet continue to cook a little longer).
  • Add kale, and cook for another 5-10 minutes. Note the water content – you may be just right, you may need to top up, or even cook uncovered to reduce it down.
  • By now, your total cooking time should be about an hour and ten minutes.
  • Once kale has just softened, add another tablespoon of olive oil, and stir in the lemon juice and zest. Serve with crusty bread and perhaps a sprinkle of nut parmesan!

Notes

  • You can make this with pre-cooked, canned beans – one 400g tin should do the trick – just rinse and drain before cooking, and use much less water/stock (perhaps 4 cups total liquid). Your cooking time will drastically reduce also.
  • If you have a large enough pot – this is a great recipe to double then freeze.
  • Try adding a finely sliced fennel bulb to the pot as your fry the onion – yum.
  • Try using diced parsnip or swede in place of potato if you need to adapt this to be nightshade free.
  • I know it sounds a lot, but trust me – 8 cloves of garlic is just fine!
  • Nutrition panel is an estimate only, based on one serving size.

Nutrition

Calories: 574kcalCarbohydrates: 106gProtein: 22gFat: 16gSodium: 177mgFiber: 23gSugar: 9gCalcium: 110mgIron: 2.2mg
Keyword Tuscan Soup, Vegan Soup, White Bean Kale Soup
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