We know that it’s almost summer, but for us it’s been pretty cool so far this season, so we’re still eating soups. We love whipping up a big pot of soup because there’s so many different combinations of ingredients you can simmer together – and a wealth of meatless options that make for a filling meal all on their own. We’re always looking for some good soup recipes, so we were glad to come across this one in the New York Times. We adapted it for ourselves and really enjoyed the result, and this can also be a vegan option by just leaving out one of the toppings – so follow along here to make it for yourself.
You’ll need:
- Olive oil
- An onion
- Garlic
- Gochujang
- Vegetable broth, or 3 Massel 7’s beef-style bouillon cubes
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
- A pound of baby red potatoes
- A 15-ounce can of cannellini beans
- A bunch of kale
- Rice
- Parsley
- Sour cream (leave this out for a vegan soup)
You can start by doing a bunch of vegetable prep: chop up your onion and 5 garlic cloves, cut your potatoes in half, tear your kale into large pieces, and drain and rinse your cannellini beans. If you’re using bouillon cubes, boil 3 cups of water and dissolve them in to make a broth, and also start preparing about a cup of rice for serving.
Next, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large pot and warm over medium-high heat. Place the onion, along with some salt and pepper, into the pot and cook for about 3 minutes, then stir in the garlic and 3 tablespoons of gochujang.
Now pour in 3 cups of broth and add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, a teaspoon of brown sugar, the potatoes, and the beans. Bring to a boil, then simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes.
Add the kale and simmer, still with the pot covered, for another 15 minutes. You can add more salt, pepper, and gochujang to your tastes.
Now you can serve up the soup, with rice on the side and sour cream and chopped parsley on top.
This was a pretty hearty soup that made itself into an entire meal: the potatoes and beans really pack into the soup, while the kale provides a good side of vegetables, and you’ve got plenty of flavor from the onion and garlic plus spiciness from the gochujang. Honestly, you can easily eat this without the rice, but serving some on the side gives you a nice, rounded out dinner. These aren’t ingredients you might think to throw together, since gochujang is a Korean condiment, cannellini beans are usually found in Italian food, and kale and potatoes are veggie soup staples – but they all work well simmered in a pot, and it makes for a very unique soup. If it’s not too hot for you, this soup is an excellent vegetarian or vegan dish, or at the very least you can keep the recipe saved for when it’s properly soup season again.