Sweet potato, red kale and cannellini bean soup

After making stock last weekend I just had to make soup. Had to. A beautiful sweet potato, cannellini beans and kale soup. I used my stock,  garlic and onions , savory herbs and a some chilli pepper flakes for a  dash of zest and heated finish.

Sweet potato kale and cannellini bean Soup

1 or 2 sweet potatoes cleaned and chopped into bite size chunks ( I leave the peel on for extra nutrients)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
 1 bunch kale chopped in bite size pieces
1 stalk celery chopped
2-3 carrots sliced
1 can cannellini beans drained and  rinsed
1 tsp tarragon
2 tsp thyme
pinch of dill
 pepper to taste
tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 small fresh sage leaves
1 tbsp dried shallots  or add 1-2 fresh diced shallots
6-8 cups vegetable stock , more will make a thinner soup

Take a ladle full of your veggie stock  and saute the onion( and shallots if you are using fresh ones)  for a few minutes, then add in the garlic, sweet potatoes, carrots and celery. Saute on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, then add in your vegetable stock, herbs, dried shallot if using,  and the beans . Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.  When sweet potato chunks are tender, meaning you can mush them with a fork, add in your kale and cover , simmer 5 minutes more. Then remove from heat and let sit.

This soup definitely tastes better the next day.  You can also take  some soup and blend it in the blender if you like a thicker soup.   I used red kale, which really is green and purple, and the color was soo beautiful that I left it unblended.  It also colored my soup a bit lavender at first.  Play with the heat and the savory, add a bit of Bragg's Liquid Amino's if you feel it needs more salt.  Canned beans usually have salt added  and even though I rinsed them, I still like to see what my soup tastes like before I add more  salt. Enjoy with crusty bread or toasted pita bread.