White Bean and Smoked Turkey Kale Soup
It got me thinking about my trusty old slow cooker that has been hiding in the back recesses of my pantry for years since its last use. Perhaps I should re-visit it before moving on to a new romance with another appliance?
So folks, that is why a plethora of bean soups this month, and it is still winter here. I started with this fabulous, kid approved, Black Bean Soup then moved on to White Bean and Leeks. I couldn’t create another soup with leeks and beans, so I decided to made a White Bean and Smoked Turkey Kale Soup. I ran into a friend at the market who had just made a bean dish with smoked turkeys legs, so why not?
It was fabulous! Turns out smoked turkey legs pretty much mimic the taste of a ham hock, who knew? With the beans and kale it was a nice hearty bowl soup deserving of dinner, and perfect for lunch the next day.
Now I am wondering what other kitchen appliances and gadgets I have been underutilizing…
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 lb bag of white beans
- 8 cups of water
- 1 large ripe tomato, chopped
- 3-4 springs of fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 smoked turkey legs, or a ham hock
- 2 cups finely chopped baby kale
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Heat a skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and onion, cook 3-5 mins or until translucent but not browned. Add the garlic cook another minute.
Add to slow cooker along with the beans, water, tomato, thyme, bay leaves and turkey.
Set to high and cook 4-6 hrs, depending on your machine, mine cooked the soup in 4 hrs.
When beans are soft and turkey falling off the bone.
Remove turkey from pot, scoop out about 1 big cup of soup mixture, blend, mash or puree and return to pot, stir to incorporate.
Discard skin and bones from turkey legs, chop meat into bite size pieces and add back to pot.
Stir in the chopped kale and taste to see if it needs any salt and pepper.
Serve in warmed bowls.
https://pamelasglutenfreerecipes.com/gluten-free/bean-smoked-turkey-kale-soup/