Kale and White Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 large Onion, diced
• 1 medium Carrot, diced
• 2 Celery sticks, diced
• 3 Garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 tbsp Tomato purée
• 1 l (4¼ cups) Vegetable stock
• 400 g (14 oz) Cooked white beans, cannellini or haricot, drained and rinsed
• 150 g (5¼ oz) Kale, stems removed, leaves shredded
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• Salt and black pepper

You’ll need: Large pot

Method

1. 1

   Soften the vegetables. Warm the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft.

2. 2

   Add flavour. Stir in the garlic, thyme and tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.

3. 3

   Simmer. Add the stock and beans and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Thicken. Mash a ladleful of the beans against the side of the pot with a spoon, or blend a cupful of the soup and stir it back in, to give the broth body.

5. 5

   Add the kale. Add the kale and simmer for 5 minutes, until tender. Stir in the lemon juice, then taste and season with salt and pepper.