White Bean, Kabocha and Kale Soup

This is a most wonderful soup recipe that I found online last year. It calls for the highly prized (and difficult to process) Kabocha Squash, a sweet and delicate squash that gives this soup a creamy texture without dairy, grain or added fat. It is worth the trouble of peeling and cubing. The soup is incredibly smooth, naturally vegan and gluten-free, and VERY nutritionally dense. One serving will feed your body well! You may certainly add homemade toasted garlic breadcrumbs or a few shavings of your favorite hard cheese on top (I like Pecorino), but it is still excellent without.

Ingredients:


3 cups onion, diced
2 cups celery (including the green tops), diced
2 T. olive oil
2 T. garlic, minced
1 T. ginger, minced
8 cups veggie stock
(I only had 4 cups of veggie broth on hand, so I added 4 cups of water, instead)
6 cups Kabocha squash, peeled, deseeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
(I saved the seeds, rinsed them in a colander, spread them on a cookie sheet, sprinkled them with garlic salt and left them overnight in a 200 degree oven - good snack!)
6 cups kale, destemmed, and roughly chopped
(Use whatever kind of kale you want... I had Dinosaur Kale - also known as Tuscan or Lacinato Kale)
2 t. dried basil
2 t. dried thyme
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 - 15 oz. can baby butter beans, drained, and rinsed
1 - 15 oz. can Great Northern beans, drained, and rinsed

What I did:


In a large pot, saute the onion and celery in olive oil for 5 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, Kabocha squash, kale, basil, thyme, cumin, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover the pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the beans and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Salt further, to taste and adjust seasonings as needed.


Yields about 3 quarts, which is great for portioning, freezing and enjoying at lunchtime!