White bean and greens soup

It's a bit on the cold side, isn't it? Soup is just the ticket for this weather. I really like Italian white bean and escarole soup so it inspired me. Any green works for this dish but how long it cooks depends on which type of green. Spinach only needs to cook a few minutes. Tough greens like collards and rapini need to cook about 45 minutes. I'm not sure an Italian cook would use collards, but I couldn't find any rapini or escarole and the store was out of chard.

Here is the recipe:

6 to 8 cups of chicken stock
2 to 3 cloves of chopped garlic
a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes
a bunch of greens, remove the thick stems and chop
two cans of white beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
garnish with grated Parmesan

Put the chicken stock into a pot and add the chopped garlic and pepper flakes to season the broth. Bring to a gentle boil and add the chopped greens. Cook over a gentle boil until the greens are tender. I used collards which need to cook for at least 45 minutes in order to become tender and to lose the bitterness. Add the white beans and simmer gently until they are warmed through. Adjust seasonings. Sprinkle with cheese if you like. You might even drizzle some nice quality olive oil over it.

My cat likes collards so I saved some for his bowl.

I may try a carrot soup later in the week. Or possibly a curried butternut squash soup.