Kale and Chickpea Soup with Garlic Crostini
My Kale and Chickpea Soup with Garlic Crostini is an easy to make soup recipe that is full of vegetables. Even more delicious topped with homemade garlic crostini. Great for meal prep!
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 1 small onion chopped (I used a yellow onion)
- 4 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
- 1 can chopped tomatoes I used 14 1/2 oz organic diced tomatoes or use a couple of fresh tomatoes chopped-plum tomatoes are great
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable base I use Better than Bouillon
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 piece Parmigiano Reggiano rind
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 15 oz. cans chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1 bunch kale stems and ribs discarded leaves chopped
- if you are adding pasta 2 cups shell or ditalini pasta
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano to toss on top when soup is ready
- for the crostini-
- 1 loaf of Italian or French bread {I used sourdough}
- 3 cloves chopped garlic
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sea salt use salt to your taste preference
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the
- garlic, onion, carrots, celery, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and cook 2
- minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook 2 more minutes; season with salt.
- Add 3 quarts water, the vegetable base (or a bouillon cube), the bay leaves
- and Parmigiano Reggiano rind. If you don’t have the cheese rind, the soup will still turn out fine!
- Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes with pot slightly covered.
- Uncover the pot and raise the heat to medium. Add the chickpeas and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. If you are adding pasta to the soup, add it now with the kale. If you are not adding pasta, just add the kale and cook stirring occasionally until the leaves are tender (about 7-10 minutes)
- Remove the bay leaves and the cheese rind. When serving the soup, add a drizzle of olive oil on top of each portion (and a little bit of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, if you like). Salt and pepper to taste.
- for the crostini-
- Slice the loaf in half and then slice it crosswise. Drizzle the bread with olive oil. Sprinkle on the salt, chopped garlic and parsley. Bake on 350 F until lightly browned (about 10 mins…depends how toasted you’d like your crostini).
- Top each bowl of soup with a a slice of the crostini and enjoy!