White Bean, Bacon, and Kale Soup

Recipe by Bonnie Shuman, Weavers Way Executive Chef

Ingredients

  • 5-15oz. Cans Field Day Cannellini Beans
  • 1-lb. Bacon, finely diced ( I used the Stryker Farms bacon ends sold in our Mt. Airy store)
  • 5-Carrots, medium diced
  • 5-Ribs Celery, medium diced
  • 2-Yellow Onions, medium diced
  • 6-14.5 oz. Cans Chicken Broth
  • 4-Stems Curly Kale, stemmed, finely chopped
  • 2-Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
  • 4-Sprigs Fresh Thyme
  • Good olive oil for drizzling on top of soup

Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 30 minutes; Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Dear Co-op Customers,

There is no way to express the gratitude I feel for our Co-op community: First and foremost, for our employees on the front lines, keeping the shelves stocked, ringing up orders, and just stepping up, even if what they are doing is not in their job description. I am so proud to be part of the Co-op team.

Secondly, to you, our devoted shoppers. The support you have demonstrated for the Co-op shows us the power of community, and I have repeatedly heard your expressions of gratitude for our staff. Know how grateful we all our for your continued support.

So, while we are in the midst of a difficult time, I hope we can also take this time to reboot and reflect. We’ve always known that cooking food and breaking bread with family and friends provides the opportunity for meaningful connection. Given that we will all be cooking a lot more than we are used to in the days ahead, I am going to be sharing lots of recipes in the coming days.

We will get through this together with our bodies, hearts, and minds nourished by good food and by each other, and we will come out better for it. So let’s start with a nice hearty soup!

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, cook the diced bacon on medium heat until the fat renders and the bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pot and set on paper towels, leaving the rendered fat in the pot.
  2. Add carrots, celery, and onion and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Add chicken broth and 2 cans of the beans. Simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes.
  5. (This next step is optional, so emit if you don’t have an immersion blender or if you prefer a more brothy soup; if not using an immersion blender, add all the beans now.) Carefully place the immersion blender halfway into the soup and give it 4 quick pulses. We are just trying to give the soup a little texture and creaminess, not making a puréed soup.
  6. Add the remaining beans, half of the cooked bacon, the kale, and the thyme and simmer for 5 minutes until the kale is tender.
  7. Serve, adding a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil, and topping with crispy bacon and more fresh thyme if desired. I also made come delicious homemade rye bread croutons, for an extra flavor boost.

Enjoy. Stay safe and healthy.

In gratitude and peace,

Bonnie Shuman
Executive Chef
Weavers Way Co-op