Black-Eyed Pea + Kale Soup
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Shaun and I are still going strong with our meat-free eating. I’ve been downing lots of fruits, veggies and Chobani yogurt, not to mention very lightly salted fresh popcorn for snack. On the morning of day 4, I’m starting to realize a few things:
1. Today I’m heading to Philly for a business trip and was initially wishing for a Philly cheesesteak. I know Shaun is secretly hoping I’d bring some home for us.
2. I don’t really miss meat. You know, aside from the above.
3. I’m very hungry. I had zumba and pilates on Tuesday night (which rocked my world) but yesterday I was ready to chop up my desk and start downing it, Cookie Monster-style.
4. I have significantly less energy. Though I think this is caused by the overall lack of protein, aside from some beans and Greek yogurt. Whew! I knew I made a mistake by not accounting for the lack of protein I’d be getting, but I swear, getting out of bed yesterday I thought my legs were filled with lead.
5. I’m kind of into the less meat thing and once I get some of the kinks worked out (like wanting to nap all day long), I feel confident that this might actually work.
So that aside, I’m excited to share another delectable recipe that I got from my Food Network Magazine. It was chock full of great stuff this month!
I had been wanting to experiment with kale so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. It’s kind of like spinach but...different. Leafier. But tasty. I also love black-eyed peas (not to be confused with my hatred for actual peas). I whipped up this soup on Monday evening so that the man and I would have lunch for a couple of days. And guess what? It was good! And filling! And meatless! We all win! Hurrah!
Black-Eyed Pea + Kale Soup
*Adapted from Food Network Magazine
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped with ribs & seeds removed
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Kosher salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoon paprika
2 14 oz cans low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound kale, ribs/stems removed and roughly chopped
1 can black-eyed peas
Parmesean cheese, for serving if desired
Brown rice, for serving if desired
In a large pot (I used my big stockpot, though an oversized saucepan would work too), heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the flour and mix until combined and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, celery garlic, 3 tbsp water, ¼ tsp kosher salt and few hits of black pepper.
Continue cooking on medium heat until the veggies are very tender, about 7-8 minutes. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and paprika, stirring to combine. Add the 2 cans of vegetable broth and mix altogether, scraping up the brown bits of delicious on the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil.
I used this opportunity to rinse and chop up the kale. I simply ran my knife along both sides of the stem to remove the leaves and then bundled it all up to give it a nice rough chop.
Add it to the soup along with a can of drained black-eyed peas. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with the lid slightly ajar so that steam can escape. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
To make the rice, I simply cooked it in some veggie broth and put a little scoop into the soup to serve. Shaun had the idea to put a few parmesean shavings on top.
So there it is a soup-er dish. Did I take it too far? It's not overly brothy, so if you want it that way, I recommend adding more vegetable broth during the cooking. In the shot above, most of the broth sunk down over the rice - but it was pretty fabulous this way. So what do you think? Have you ever tried kale? And any tips to share about getting more protein sans meat?
15 Comments | January 19, 2011 | Share Article | Email Article | tagged kale, lunch, meatless, soup | in Recipes Print Article | Permalink
Reader Comments (15)
I JUST got into Kale a few months ago-I used to hate the "toughness" of it in comparison to spinach. Now I love it-cooked! I haven't gotten into eating it raw besides Kale chips. I love it in soups, casseroles, and even pasta! Great recipe!
I've tried kale and while I don't really like it all that much, I force it down sometimes. It's a superfood, so I try to give it the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it will grow on me.
I think I am going to try this. I have to find the right balance of low carbs, high protein, and no meat.
This looks great and the perfect way to eat kale for the first time! I expect kale to taste like seaweed, not that thats a bad thing, just how I envision it!
I totally want to try this!
This looks delicious! I want to make this soon :) I just skimmed through your blog and totally love the recipes you have on here (YUM to the frittata)!
I love any kind of green leafy vegetable kale, mustard greens, collard greens, etc. - and they are great for you. But you have to cook them really well or else they can be really tough to eat and digest. I usually just saute the greens in a bit of olive oil that I've sauted garlic in - like Anne Burrell I now remove the garlic after it's "done it's garlic destiny" - this way you don't get a piece of garlic to chew. My favorite has to be broccoli rapa - I love the bitter taste - and with beans it's a winner for dinner. If you're not doing the meatless thing a little pancetta adds a nice flavor.
This looks tasty and warming... I once read an article where a major foodie said that kale was the one veggie she could not live without!!! That encouraged me to keep on trying to find ways to love it! Baby steps...
I have actually recently made a conscious decision to not eat meat at this juncture in my life, but I'm keeping fish and eggs in the mix. Coupled with beans and some occasional tofu or tempeh, I've been substantially less hungry than when I've tried to do this in the past and haven't had a craving for meat once, when it usually hits me around day 3 that I need some meat RIGHT NOW. There is even a delicious looking turkey breast in the fridge that my boyfriend brought home, but I am totally fine leaving it untouched, which is weird for me :)
I have cut wayyyy back on the meat lately. One thing that has helped me is protein powder. I make these rockin' shakes with a scoop of powder (~20g protein!), spinach, almond milk, and whatever mix-ins I have (apples, bananas, avocado, pumpkin, berries, etc.). Cold, but delicious after a good workout.
This soup looks good. I gave a pea-hatred, but will try this with garbanzos or navy beans. I LOVE kale in anything!
kale is supposed to be the new thing! (or maybe it was cool for a while and i'm just finding out? haha)
i couldn't imagine going meatless but i'm going to be doing it for a week also!
my reason is way more vain though, i'm trying to fit into a dress a size smaller than me in time for formal in a little over a week.
it zippers (yay!) but breathing isn't fun hahahaa
so i'm going on an all fruit and water cleanse, wish me luck!
Thanks everyone!
Nourhan, so happy you found us!
I have to say that overall, I'm a kale convert! Thanks for all the tips on the supplemental protein food!
Christine, let me know how the fruit & water thing goes! I feel like I'd like that since I pretty much eat fruit all day anyway!
This looks so good! I really look forward to making it.
This looks amazing! I love Kale in brothy-dishes because it holds up so well.
This looks wonderful. I'm a big fan of kale, collards, spinach and especially chard.
I eat very little meat and don't find I miss the protein at all. I get more than enough protein. I have beans, tofu or lentils most evenings for dinner. Sometimes eggs or fish. You actually don't need very much protein. I'm not a nutritionist but I've read that Americans eat way more protein than we need. I'll bet if you research it you'll find you're having more than enough.
For lunch, I usually have a Kashi protein bar. I work full time and have 4 kids so preparing lunch for me just doesn't happen. I keep a big box of these in my office and they fill me up and taste like candy. (I also try to bring some baby carrots, grape tomatoes, or sliced cucumber or pepper.) Maybe experiment with some protein bars?
The most important thing for me is TONS of fruits and veggies. The sugar in the fruits really keeps me going. I have 4-5 fruits a day and 3-4 very large servings of veggies.
Hope this helps some! Good luck. I'm rooting for you!