Meatless Monday: Kale and Garbanzo Bean Stew
There is nothing better on a cold day, than warm soup to warm you up. In this stew, soft round pieces of barley balanced out the texture of the ribbed green kale. The addition of wine to the broth added a depth of flavor. Kale wasn’t the only hardy vegetable in the stew, which also contained carrots, tomatoes, and garbanzo beans. Red pepper flakes added some heat to the mild flavor of chicken broth. This meatless dish reminded me of a spicy green bean soup my Nonny used to make. It was always guaranteed to be a little spicy and full of colorful vegetables. I was also inspired by a recipe I found on Pinterest, which was originally posted on The Washington Post website.
Ingredients and directions:
*Stew recipe lightly adapted from The Washington Post
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 tsp of salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and salt-free adobo
64 ounces of low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup of barley
3/4 cup of carrots
3/4 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
Parmesan cheese to taste (to season with after the soup is served) *optional
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the soup once it is finished *optional
1- Heat the olive oil over medium heat. After dicing the onion, add it to the pot with the olive oil. After about five minutes, add the diced garlic.
2- Give the garlic a few minutes to add flavor to the oil and then add all of the liquid and barley.
3- Let the barely mixture come to a boil (over medium high heat) and then turn the stove temperature back down to medium heat to let the stew simmer.
4- After about 35 minutes add the vegetables and tomatoes to the soup mixture. Serve when the barley and carrots are tender. Top it with Parmesan cheese if you like.
Enjoy and let me know what you think! Feel free to share and link to your favorite soup or stew recipes.
Better Bites 