Kale Pasta White Bean Soup

Does anybody else feel gross right now?  Just utterly icky, and like you need to eat only vegetables from here to eternity?

Visits home are not, generally speaking, my most nutritionally successful moments.  But Christmas takes it to a whole other level.  And because I horde vacation days like a squirrel preparing for a Western NY winter, it’s been farrrr too many days of dairy, sugar, and little else for my poor digestive system.  She’s just trying to do her job!

So, friends, it’s time to play nice.  Not only because I want my clothes to continue to fit me, but also because I don’t want to be wildly unhealthy forever.

Naturally, this meant the first item I picked up on today’s grocery run was a giant bag of kale I could never hope to polish off all by my lonesome before it starts to turn.  Which means…it’s time to make some soup!

Assuming it’s not cream-based, there’s something about soup that just feels so restorative.  A nice, salty broth is good for the soul, but– and I don’t know if you’ve noticed this– it’s cold out!  And that means the ideal winter soup should be a little hearty, too.  This soup does the trick.  Kale and a lightly spicy, tomato-y broth make you think you’re doing your body some good, and pasta and creamy white beans give the soup the kind of heft it needs to be a quick and easy, yet filling, dinner.  Louie also licked up every last drop of the broth in my bowl like his life depended on it, if you want another endorsement beyond my own.

Kale Pasta White Bean Soup (makes 4 generous servings)

• 2 large Leeks, sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 t. Hot Paprika
• 1/2 t. Thyme (dried)
• 1 t. Parsley (dried)
• 1 T. Tomato Paste
• Salt (to taste– a big pinch is a good start)
• Pepper (to taste)
• 4 c. low-sodium Chicken Stock (you could easily make this recipe vegan by swapping out for veggie stock!)
• 1 1/2 c. Pasta (I used ditalini)
• 4-5 c. Kale, chopped and with ribs removed
• 1 can White Beans, drained and rinsed (I used Great Northern)
• Grated Pecorino to taste (don’t use if you’re going the vegan route)

Saute leeks and garlic in a drizzle of olive oil in a pot over medium heat.  When leeks begin to soften, add paprika, thyme, parsley, tomato paste, salt, and pepper.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring to incorporate tomato paste with other ingredients.  Add chicken stock and pasta, turning heat up to med-high to bring stock to a boil.  Stir occasionally to ensure leeks aren’t sticking to the bottom.  When pasta is nearly al dente, add kale and white beans, cooking for 1-2 minutes more to soften kale and heat the beans through.  Remove from heat, add any additional seasoning to taste, and grate in pecorino to taste.

This is the kind of soup I want to eat while diving into a good book.  What were your favorites this year?  My standouts: The Vegetarian; Sing, Unburied, Sing; Hunger; Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat; The Underground Railroad; and Homegoing.  Most looking forward to: Little Fires Everywhere; Her Body and Other Parties; The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories; Sour Heart; The Power; we are never meeting in real life; and Fates and Furies.  I’m currently struggling to get into the first of the Neapolitan series that has been so popular– have any of you read it and loved it?  I’m around 100 pages in and still feeling very “meh” about the whole thing.