Bacon and white bean soup with kale

1. Prep Ingredients

Start by prepping your ingredients. Dice the onion, mince the garlic, then pick and chop the herbs. Remove the kale from the stems, chop, wash and drain. Drain the beans and finally, dice the bacon and move onto cooking.

2. Render

Start by placing a pot over medium heat and adding the bacon. Let the bacon render while stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes. The bacon should be crispy and a good amount of fat should have come out.

3. Sweat Aromatics

Add the onion and garlic to the pot with the rendered bacon with a small pinch of salt. Sweat until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Then add the oregano, thyme, and red pepper flake, and stir for about a minute until fragrant. If you need more fat to cook the aromatics at this stage, feel free to add some.

4. Add Beans

Once the aromatics have sweated, add the beans with a generous pinch of salt and crush them a bit by stirring in the pot. This will help to thicken the soup once you add the cooking liquid.

5. Add Cooking Liquid

Pour in the chicken stock and bring it all to a gentle boil and add a pinch opf salt. Turn down the heat and let it simmer away for about 10 minutes.

6. Finishing Ingredients

Once the soup has simmered, add the chopped kale and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes or until it's tender. Taste the soup for seasoning, adjusting with salt and pepper as needed. Plate the soup garnished with the sliced chives and a drizzle of olive oil.