Tuscan White Bean & Kale Soup with Pork

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season pork cubes with salt. When the pan is quite hot, add pork and cook, stirring sparingly to encourage a good sear and brown sides, about 2 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate.

2. In the same pot, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic, paprika and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add wine and tomatoes, increase heat to high and stir to scrape up any browned bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add broth and bring to a boil.

3. Add kale and stir just until it wilts. Reduce heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is just tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in beans, the reserved pork and any accumulated juices; simmer until the beans and pork are heated through, about 2 minutes.

Serve immediately. Garnish with manchego cheese. Or, you can pull all 13 varieties of cheese from your cheese drawer and go eenie-meenie-minie-moe, like I did.

Notes:
Kale: I was hungry, so I didn’t want to make the trip all the way to Whole Foods for this dish. I went to our neighborhood, small grocery store and all I found was some limp, pathetic kale. I bought it anyway. I brought it home, sliced the dry edges off the stems, and put them in a cup of water (à la floral bouquet). 30 minutes later, my kale was strong and crisp! I’d also suggest storing kale in your refrigerator in the cup of water to maintain freshness.

Canned beans: While convenient, they tend to be high in sodium. Be sure to rinse them thoroughly to get rid of as much sodium as possible. Or, be a rockstar and cook your own!

Estimated Nutritional Information:
Per serving (1 2/3 cup): 262 calories; 6 g fat ( 1 g sat , 3 g mono ); 45 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrates; 25 g protein;7 g fiber; 627 mg sodium; 1024 mg potassium.