With autumn creeping in fast (and as a chef who easily gets kitchen boredom), I decided it's time for a cozy comfort food fiesta to spice up our taste buds with the flavors of the season. Get ready for a scrumptious lineup of braises, soups, stews, and delightful desserts coming your way!
One of my trusty weeknight dinner go-tos is the White Bean and Kale Stew! This meat-free powerhouse is a breeze to whip up, freezes like a champ, and packs a punch of protein and veggies. It's the ultimate comfort food whether you're battling a cold or recovering from a leaf-raking marathon.
White Bean and Kale Stew
•2 tablespoons olive oil
•3 cloves of garlic, minced
•1 medium onion, diced
•2 carrots, peeled and diced
•2 stalks of celery, diced
•2 bay leaves
•2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped, stems reserved
•4 cups vegetable stock
•2 20oz cans of cooked white beans
•2 cups chopped kale
•1 ½ teaspoons miso paste
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onion to the oil and fry until transparent. Then add the garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaves and rosemary stems and fry for a couple of minutes until the vegetables are slightly softened.
Add the stock and beans (*Rinse beans if desired but read note below before doing so), bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Add the chopped rosemary leaves and kale, cover the pot and simmer until the kale is soft. About 15 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, ladle about a cup of the soup into a bowl and add the miso paste. Stir well to dissolve then add it back into the soup along with the lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper, the quantity will depend on how salty your stock and miso paste are. Remove the bay and rosemary stems and serve.
*Aquafaba is the liquid from canned beans, which is a viscous, salty, and starchy liquid that comes from cooked legume seeds. Aquafaba can be used as a thickener in soups and sauces, or as a substitute for whipped egg whites. I like the the velvety texture it gives my broth so I do not rinse it away in this recipe.
