White Bean, Kale, and Shitake Mushroom Soup

Originally, from the Washington Post. Author, Becky Krystal. First of all, this soup is thick. I prefer to call it a soup-stew. It is filled with umami from the mushrooms and spices. The only thing I’ve changed is to substitute cayenne for pepper flakes because the pepper flakes were undetectable. The soup is just made for a crusty bread side. For those counting calories, it comes in low at about 303 calories for a 1 1/2 cup serving. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

2 Tblsp olive oil

1 medium to large onion

12 ounces of kale with stems and leaves chopped (or you can buy it that way)

8 ounces fresh shitake mushroom caps, cut in 1/4 inch slices (Freeze stems for use in other recipes)

3 cloves garlic, sliced thin

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried thyme

7 cups water

1 lb. cleaned and washed dried white beans

Juice of one large lemon

1/4 tsp cayenne (or a pinch, if you don’t like it too spicy)

Assembling

Set instant pot to “sauté” (high). Add oil. When oil is hot, add onions and sauté until they begin to brown–6-8 minutes. Watch closely and stir to prevent burning, although the brown bits on the bottom will add umami. Add mushrooms and continue to stir until mushrooms release their lovely liquid. Add garlic, salt, rosemary, and thyme. Continue stirring constantly for about 30 seconds more or until fragrant. Press cancel on the instant pot to turn off heat.

Add water and dried beans to pot and stir mixture. Cover, set steam valve to pressure (or sealing) and set to high. It will take 5-10 minutes to reach high pressure. Cook for 30 minutes. Manually release pressure. Be careful not to burn yourself on the released steam. Check beans. They should be cooked through. If they aren’t, bring back to pressure and cook 2-3 minutes more.

When beans are soft, add chopped kale leaves. It will fill the pot but push them down. Bring pot back to pressure on high. Cook for 2 minutes. Allow pressure to come down for 10 minutes; then open the valve to release remain pressure. Again, be careful to avoid steam burns.

Kale will be floating on top. Mix to combine. Add lemon juice, cayenne, and salt to taste. Serve with crusty bread or popovers.