Oooof, if you are anything like me you’ve gained a few pounds over Thanksgiving weekend. I was fortunate enough to have 2 Thanksgivings this year. Kieran and I celebrated Thanksgiving Day on our own with a succulent prime rib (recipe to soon follow) and on Saturday we celebrated with my family and had the traditional turkey dinner.
Between the prime rib, turkey, wine, mash potatoes, wine, dinner rolls, wine, green bean casserole, wine, wine, sweet potatoes, and more wine, my tummy couldn’t help but expand a little bit.
After a weekend of heavy eating and drinking, I like to balance my diet a bit, and cook up some vegan goodness.
So I love white bean and Kale soup with turkey meatballs, but I forgot to take leftovers home (der) so I didn’t have any leftover turkey to repurpose. I decided to go vegan with it! I don’t know about you but I feel full, yet light on my feet, when I eat vegan.
No, I will never renounce meat, as I love to dine on the swine, but it’s good for your body to be balanced. Do I know that for a fact? Ummm….no…I don’t….I aint a nutritionist….but it sounds correct doesn’t it? 😀
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the taste of this soup. It was light, flavorful, and extremely comforting!
It’s the perfect soup to help you round out a over-indulgent holiday weekend.
White Bean and Kale Soup
Ingredients
Bean Balls:
- 1 onion, minced
- 2 (15oz) cans white beans, dranied and rinsed
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 3-5 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- Big pinch of red pepper flakes
- Zest from 1 lemon
Soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup dried orzo
- 9 cups veggie broth
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 4 cups chopped kale
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper (plus more to taste)
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Bean Balls
- Pour your beans into a large bowl and mash them until it forms a paste (it's OK to keep a couple of beans whole). Stir in the remaining "bean ball" ingredients, with only ¼ cup of the onion (save the rest for later), until everything is well incorporated (you may need to use your hands). If the mixture seems too dry, add in a tablespoon or two of water.
- Roll the bean mixture into balls approx the size of golf balls and put them on a tin-foil lined baking sheet, greased with cooking spray. You should get approx 20-25 balls depending on big or small you roll them.
- Lightly spray the bean balls with cooking spray and bake them for approx 15 minutes. Turn the balls over, and cook them for another 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
The Soup
- While the bean balls are cooking up in the oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the remaining onion, carrots, celery, and red pepper and saute until the onions start to turn brown (approx 3-5 minutes). Add the garlic and pasta and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Gently pour in the broth and let everything simmer until the pasta is tender, which takes 10-15 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, kale, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and parsley and turn off the heat.
Putting Everything Together
- Put 3-4 bean balls into the bottom of a bowl. Carefully ladle the soup over them. Serve up the soup right away!