Vegan Mofo: Cranberry bean and kale soup

Well, this is my last Vegan Mofo post!
So sad to see you go, but I hope you all will stick around. I have some more tricks up my sleeve to share with you in the coming weeks and months!

This soup is the perfect rainy day meal. The original recipe called for pancetta it tasted great without. I was going to toss in a bit of Worcestershire sauce to give it a little bit more flavor but forgot.
Also, if you can't find Cranberry Beans, I would think you could use any dried bean, except maybe black bean or pinto, that would give it more of a Latin feel and this soup is more Italian.
Make it ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge for a day or two. As always with any hearty soup, serve it up with a nice crusty crusty!

(p.s. I forgot to take a picture to show you, sorry)

CRANBERRY BEAN AND KALE SOUP
adapted from "How to Cook Everything" (I think?)
serves about 4-6

1 large baking potatoes - washed and cut into small dice
1 head kale - leaves only, rinsed and cut into thin strips
1 tbsp. salt plus more if preferred
2 garlic cloves - peeled and minced
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil - for drizzling
2 large onions - peeled and roughly chopped, separated into two piles
3 c. dried cranberries beans
1 tbsp. pure olive (not virgin) oil
2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
2 large carrots - peeled and roughly chopped and separated into two piles
additional vegetable broth or water
shredded Parmesan for garnish

Place a handful of beans on a large plate and pick through them carefully, removing any rocks, bean fragments or debris.
Repeat until all beans have been picked over.
Place the beans in a large colander and rinse thoroughly under cool water.
In a large pot, add the beans and enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches.
Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
Let boil for 3 minutes and then reduce the heat to medium.
Skim off any gray foam that comes to the surface during this period.
Add one pile of the onion, carrot and the salt
Let the beans cook for 1 hour or until they are fairly soft.
Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil medium heat.
Add the onion and saute until translucent.
Add the carrots and garlic.
Let cook for 3 or 4 minutes and then add half of the reserved bean-cooking liquid.
Add the kale and potatoes to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Cook for another 20 minutes.
The potatoes should be tender by this point.
Place 1 c. of the beans in a food processor.
Puree the beans with the other half of the reserved cooking liquid.
Add the bean puree to the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the pepper and taste for seasonings.
Add additional salt or liquid as needed.
Top with Parmesan.

enjoy!
xoxo