Donna Hay's Kale, Spinach & Tofu Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

This is not the prettiest soup I have shared and probably a white bowl would have been better for pictures, but when you are feeling like you need something healthy and green in your system, that is quick to make, tastes, great, and satisfies, Donna Hay's Kale, Spinach & Tofu Soup is a great way to go.

I was using up the remains of a carton of baby spinach and a big bunch of local curly kale, so mine is a bit more kale-heavy than the recipe, accounting for its more olive color. You could certainly work in your other favorite greens or go all spinach, if you are so inclined. The tofu and beans and creaminess and protein and fiber to make it satisfying but you could omit the tofu and use cashew cream instead.

 
Kale, Spinach & Tofu Soup
Slightly Adapted from DonnaHay.com
(Serves 4)

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 green onions (scallions), chopped
1 leek, trimmed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 3 large cloves)
4 cups vegetable stock
about 7 oz kale, trimmed and chopped
about 11 oz baby spinach leaves
11 oz silken tofu, plus extra, cut into cubes, to serve
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp lemon juice + more to taste (I used the juice of 1 1/2 lemons)
sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
*shichimi togarashi+ and radish sprouts (optional), to serve 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and leek and cook stirring for 2–3 minutes or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute or until golden. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium, add the kale and spinach and cook for 4–5 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat. 

Add the tofu, beans and lemon juice and, using a hand-held stick blender, blend to a smooth consistency. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and return to medium heat until warmed through.
 
Divide between serving bowls, top with the extra tofu, sprinkle with the togarashi and radish sprouts, if using, to serve

*Shichimi Togarashi is a Japanese spice mixture

Notes/Results: If you like your greens, you will enjoy this soup. It has good flavor (Note: I added extra lemon and garlic) and it's satisfying without being heavy. It also goes together pretty quickly, something I enjoy on a busier weekend. Next time, I would probably take the time to pan-fry the tofu for the garnish--just to give it that extra texture, maybe dredging it in some mochi rice flour, seasoned with salt, pepper and togarashi spice. Speaking of the shichimi togarashi --it can be found in Asian grocery stores, or grocery stores with well-stocked Asian food sections, or you could use another chili spice blend, or make your own (recipe here); it definitely adds a nice burst of bright heat that goes well with the mellow soup and peppery radish sprouts. I would make this soup again. 

Linking up with I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's Potluck theme--our week to make any recipe from our current or past IHCC featured chefs. 

We have some fabulous dishes waiting this week in the Souper Sundays kitchen--let's have a look!

Tina of Novel Meals and Squirrel Head Manor shared a classic Fresh Tomato Basil Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to pair with a recently read book. She said, "Without giving spoilers I will say a food item mentioned is soup.  It’s vegetable soup in the book but I present you with a Tomato Basil soup.  Grilled cheese and tomato soup.  What more could you ask for, great pairing."

 
Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog is here with Kale and White Bean Soup. She said, "Since I had a refrigerator full of vegetables from this week's CSA pickings ( garlic, onions, purple potatoes, carrots, parsley, sage, kale, and dandelion greens), I realized I had everything I needed to make a delicious soup. I added a can of cannelloni  beans and felt satisfied with this warm comforting dinner. Any kind of greens would taste good in this soup; I added a combination of kale and dandelion."

 
A new friend joins us at Souper Sundays this week, Colleen from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice. Colleen shared her Easy French Onion Soup and said, "The great thing about this soup is that you can put the onions in the crockpot before you leave for work and they will be perfectly caramelized by the time you return home. After that, you simply add everything to a big pot or Dutch oven and let it simmer for 20 minutes. How much easier does it get than that? While the soup is bubbling away, you can toast some French bread in the oven and grate whatever type of cheese you prefer to garnish the soup with."

 
Mahalo to everyone who joined me at Souper Sundays this week! 

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 

Have a happy, healthy week!