Today would be what I would consider our first truly wonderful fall day. After a trip to a park this morning watching my munchkins run around happily in long sleeves and long pants, I decided soup was definitely in the cards for tonight. Curtis had to work late again, so I was a little unsure about how the soup would go over. Last year, M would not eat soup so for a while I thought about backing out of soup and doing something more kid friendly. But I just couldn't pass up our beautiful fall day.
I chose a soup that used both kale and bell peppers. I was also hoping to sneak some kohlrabi in, but decided against it. To make the soup, I sauted a half a chopped onion in a medium saucepan (nothing huge necessary--only 4 c of liquid and 4 c of veggies). Once the onion was soft, I added two minced garlic cloves and sauted for an additional minute. Then I added approximately 3 c chopped kale, 1 c chopped bell pepper, 1 T chopped fresh basil, and 1 T chopped fresh oregano (or 1 t basil and 1 t oregano). I briefly sauted for a few minutes, then lowered the heat, covered the pot, and simmered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (I know this sounds strange to cook the vegetables without liquid, but it turns out great). I then added 3 c of chicken broth (the recipe called for 1 c water and 2 c vegetable stock, but I had 3 c of chicken broth in the freezer that I wanted to use), 1 c tomato juice (that I had canned earlier this summer), 1 1/2 T red wine, 2 c kidney beans (pretty much any kind of light bean works---black are a little too heavy), and 1/4 c small shells (or any other small pasta). Bring that to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. I served it like this, topped with parmesan.
The recipe does call for 1/2 c chopped fresh tomatoes and 1 T chopped fresh parsley to be stirred in at the end of the cooking time. If I would have had tomatoes, I would have added them (I've used them in the past as you can see in the picture). If you aren't ready to eat right away, you can let the soup simmer for as long as you need to.
I needn't worried about the kids response to the soup. M loved it. She didn't eat the kale (no surprise there) but she did eat the kidney beans I used which surprised me. J ate it very well as well and I had two bowls. There's nothing like the first soup of the fall.
2 comments:
Wow that looks delicious, and it seems so easy. Can I ask why the picture doesn't look so soupy?
For the amount of vegetables, there isn't a lot of broth. If you want it more soupy, just add more water or chicken broth. If you want it less soupy, add less.
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