Even though it’s feeling a little warmer here, a good hearty soup is still a wonderful supper and this was a real keeper! It’s based on Melissa Clark’s Lemony White Bean Soup With Turkey and Greens from the New York Times. She has the best recipes!

It’s a very flexible soup. You can use different beans or greens and Melissa makes it with ground turkey. I used kidney beans, cooked chicken (from a Costco chicken) and kale, because that’s what I had. I also added a leek since I had them.

It was wonderful. Both Kumy and I kept sneaking back for bites!

INGREDIENTS

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 leek, halved and cut into ½” pieces
4 cups shredded kale
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp red-pepper flakes
2 cups cooked chicken roughly chopped
1½ tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tsp kosher salt
1 quart chicken stock
2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Juice of 1 lemon

Heat oil in a large pot. Once shimmering, reduce heat to medium and add onions, carrots and leeks. Cook stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, until everything looks softened and a little golden.

Add tomato paste, cumin, red-pepper flakes, garlic powder, ginger and salt to the pot. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes, then add chicken. (If using raw chicken add to the pot and cook 5 minutes or so.) Add stock, beans and kale and simmer for 15 to 25 minutes. If your soup is getting thick, you can add a bit more water.

Just before serving, add the juice of one lemon. Check seasoning and serve. Yum!