Quick Kale & White Bean Stew | Soup From A Can Sucks

When there's a chill in the air I'm always craving something warm, hearty, and in a bowl. Soups and stews generally take the place of salads and sandwiches. Herein lies the problem, though - Time. You can throw together a salad and sandwich in a few minutes, but your only quick soup and stew options are from a can, right? Wrong.

Soup From A Can Sucks

Where do I begin with the suckage that is soup from a can? How do they pack so much sodium and preservatives in canned soup yet it still tastes like dishwater? Flavorless and containing few quality ingredients, you're lucky to get the amount of veggies and meat inside the whole can that are floating in the picture on the label.

The first time I realized how much I disliked canned soup was when I was at the grocery store a few years back.  I actually caught myself overlooking dozens of cans before finding one and thinking, "Maybe I could doctor this one up to taste good." I put the can down and I've since been making soup from scratch, only resorting to the can in very very desperate moments.

Stock Up

The best soup is made from a high quality stock. I really enjoy making all kinds of stocks including vegetable, chicken, beef, fish, lamb, and turkey. As long as you have 3 or 4 hours to let the stock ingredients simmer, you will be well on your way to making the best soup you ever tasted. You can also freeze it for later usage, but making stock is another article. Often I don't have the time to make homemade stock or I've run out of frozen stock I've made before.

Stock Or Broth?

What is the difference between stock and broth? While both can be interchangeable, typically a stock contains more complex flavors and has a richer mouth feel from the gelatin rendered from bones while a broth is made from fewer ingredients and is more one sided. Canned broth can contain alot of salt as well since it is made to be consumed as is. Both can be used to make soup, however I prefer to use the more complex stock.

It used to be difficult to find canned or boxed stock in the grocery store, but nowadays just about all grocers carry more than one brand of stock. My favorite storebought stock is Kitchen Basics. It's usally available at any grocer and has a very simple ingredient list containing no preservatives with low sodium or no salt at all.

Time Is The Essence

Now that we have that whole stock thing figured out, healthy and delicious soups can be made in no time at all! You can literally throw everything in a pot and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or add a bit more flavor by sauteeing some aromatics in your pot and deglazing with stock, then adding your ingredients.

This hearty kale and bean stew can be made in less than 30 minutes so do yourself a quick favor and make this stew. Packed with flavor and loaded with nutrition, you'll never have to shop for canned soup and decide which one sucks less.

Quick Kale & White Bean Stew Recipe

Ingredients

2 Tbls canola oil

2 medium onions, chopped

8 cloves garlic, minced

5 bay leaves

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp red chili flakes

4 cups vegetable stock

2 cans cannellini beans (or any other canned white bean)

1 15 oz can whole tomatoes, roughly chopped

4 cups chopped kale

Kosher salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a pot large enough to hold all the soup, heat canola oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaves, smoked paprika, salt, and chili flakes and continue to saute until you get a good fond in the bottom of the pan - about another 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in stock and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add beans, tomatoes, and kale and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Whole Living

Photo by Michell Kimbrell

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