Barley, kale and Romano beans soup, and a Greens + Grains giveaway

Name: Barley, kale and Romano beans soup, and a Greens + Grains giveaway
Yield: 4 -6
Ingredients: 1 cup 180 grams barley (or any other whole grain - quinoa, farro, spelt, wheat berries, or brown rice); fine sea salt; 10 oz/ 280 grams kale; 1 onion; 1 can; 3 TBs extra virgin olive oil; 2 garlic cloves; 6 cups/ 1.4 L vegetable broth; 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or smoked paprika; freshly ground pepper; lemon

User Reviews

5.0

3 reviews

Excellent

Servings
4 -6
Course
Soup

Barley, kale and Romano beans soup, and a Greens + Grains giveaway

Ethan Patterson

Report

Molly Watson provides an excellent template for a greens and grains soup in her book. This was my adaptation based on whatever greens - kale - and grains - barley - I had on hand at the time. I'd say that the lemon and chipotle powder (or smoked paprika) are non-negotiable. Molly recommends cooking the grains separately because they'll cloud the soup, but I didn't.

Share:

I Made This!

Be the first!

Print

Be the first!

Save this

Be the first!

Ingredients

Servings

1 cup 180 grams barley (or any other whole grain - quinoa, farro, spelt, wheat berries, or brown rice)
fine sea salt
10 oz/ 280 grams kale or other greens
1 onion
1 can 2 cups Romano beans (or any other beans, optional)
3 TBs extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
6 cups/ 1.4 L vegetable broth
1 teaspoon chipotle powder or smoked paprika
freshly ground pepper
lemon I serve a wedge with each bowl

Add to Shopping List

Instructions

If cooking the grains separately: Rinse the grains. Put the grains and 2 teaspoon salt in a medium pot and cover generously with water (barley takes 2.5 cups of water to 1 cup of broth; if cooking barley separately but adding to soup later, use just 2 cups). Bring to a boil, lower heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until the grains are tender to the bite; in the case of barley, this will take 40-50 minutes, but more delicate grains like quinoa will require only 15. Drain and set aside.
If cooking the grains in the soup, proceed according to instructions and add the grains after you've added the broth.
Prep your greens. Cut the stems out of from the kale leaves. Trim the stems and finely chop them, then cut the leaves into thin ribbons; keep the stems and leaves separate (If using greens without thick stems, simply chop them into ribbons).
Chop onion into bite-sized pieces. Mince garlic.
Heat 1 TB of olive oil in a soup pot over med-high heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, until it is beginning to turn transluscent. Add kale stems and cook, stirring frequently, until they're soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chipotle powder (or smoked paprika) and stir to combine.
Add the broth and grains (if cooking grains in soup, add another 2 cups of water to soup and follow the timelines outlined initially). Once grains are cooked, add the greens, stir to combine, and cook until wilted and tender, about 10 minutes for kale (or 1-2 minutes for spinach, 5 minutes for chard).
Season with salt to taste (I start with 1 TB for a pot of soup, and usually go to 2-3, but I like my salt). Serve warm with a lemon wedge and a grind or two of pepper.