As the cold weather sets in, a soup hearty enough to stand on its own for dinner is always welcome. This combination of white beans, chorizo and kale is mouthwateringly delicious (even for the kale-sceptic).  It’s equally good with canned beans if you run out of time to prepare dried.

Cannellini Bean Soup with Chorizo and Kale

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Soup that is hearty enough to serve as a meal.

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound cannellini or other dried white beans
• 4 oz salt pork, cut into four chunks
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• fresh thyme
• kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 8 oz chicken stock (preferably homemade)
• 2 c water
• 8 oz Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4” cubes
• 1 large bunch of kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. The night before, rinse the beans and remove any that look suspect. Place in a large glass or ceramic bowl and cover generously with water. Soak overnight. They will plump up remarkably.
2. Drain the beans in a colander and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Gently saute the onions, carrots and celery until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for another two minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Add the drained beans and salt pork to the soup pot, along with the stock and water. Add several sprigs of fresh thyme, the kosher salt and several grinds of pepper.
5. Bring the soup to a simmer over medium high heat. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for about an hour. Add the chorizo and cook another 30 minutes until the beans are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the salt pork and discard. Using tonges, remove any twigs from the thyme.
6. Add the kale and simmer until wilted, about 3 minutes. Adjust the seasonings as required.
7. Serve and enjoy! You can sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if you like, though we find the soup quite hearty enough without it.

• Author: HELEN KAIN

The individual soup tureens are Jardins du Monde by Juliska, now discontinued, but sometimes available through Replacements.com.