Red Bean and Kale Stew

It’s October, which means soup season has officially arrived! This Red Bean and Kale Soup is hearty, flavorful, and takes no time at all to whip up! This soup is the definition of “comfort soup” and is guaranteed to keep you warm this fall.

Soups are one of my favorite foods. There’s just something so comforting about a warm bowl of broth that combines many different flavors into one spoonful.

People often associate soup with cold weather, and because of that, might not expect soup to be very popular in the Caribbean. But that’s not true at all! The Caribbean has many different types of soup, with some of the most popular being chicken foot soup (our version of a chicken noodle soup) and manish water (with goat and green bananas). The Caribbean is also famous for many different kinds of peas soups (in Jamaica, we say “peas” instead of “beans”).

This red bean stew recipe is loosely inspired by red peas soup, a thick and creamy soup traditionally made from uncooked red kidney beans that are cooked using a pressure cooker then blended and simmered for hours with beef or other meat. Red peas soup is DELICIOUS! But it takes a very, very, VERY long time to make. It’s literally an all day event. Every time I think about making red peas soup, I talk myself out of it because it requires so much time!

Well, not any more. Today’s soup recipe uses the canned variety of red kidney beans (a big no no for the traditional red peas soup!), and instead of blending the peas, I use vegetable broth to make a thinner stew. To pump of the flavor, I added some spices that would be used in a traditional red peas soup, such as thyme and all spice. I also added kale and chickpeas to make the soup more hearty.

When it’s all said and done, this soup recipe ends up taking about 15 minutes to prepare instead of hours. Now that’s my kind of soup! If you want some extra flavor (or you just love meat), you can add some shredded chicken or beef on top!

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Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (15.5 oz) can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 oz can) roasted tomatoes and juices
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1 medium sweet onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp fresh ground ginger
• 1 tsp all spice
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, stem removed
• 1 tsp red pepper paste (or tomato paste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• fresh lime wedges and cilantro, to garnish

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat and saute onions, garlic, and ginger until golden brown, approximately 2 minutes. Add thyme, all spice, tomatoes, and red pepper paste and saute for another minute. Add broth and bring to a boil.
2. Once the broth comes to a boil, add kidney beans, chickpeas, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Bring the soup back to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
3. Right before serving, stir in chopped kale. Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro and serve immediately.