Photo and text by KARA
DiCAMILLO/ecoRI.org News contributor
One of my friends from
college is a chef in Los Angeles. He recently sent me his new cookbook called
“The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude.” When I
opened the package I was a bit skeptical because, as you know, I am not vegan.
But I do love food and with my weekly CSA veggie pickup I knew there would be
options for experimenting.
Brian Patton started
experimenting with vegan food in hopes of losing weight, and quickly became a
YouTube sensation. I started following his instructional cooking videos a few
years ago. As his witty, ukulele-playing alter ego “The
Sexy Vegan,” Brian gained
quite a large following.
White Bean and Kale
Soup
(Courtesy of “The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude”)
Makes 6 cups
2 teaspoons of
extra-virgin olive oil
Half cup of diced yellow onion
A half cup of thinly sliced carrot
1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
Salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 leaves of kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (I added more, about 2 cups)
2 cups of drained freshly cooked white beans, or one 15-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained
Pepper
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh Italian parsley
Half cup of diced yellow onion
A half cup of thinly sliced carrot
1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
Salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary
4 cups of vegetable stock
2 leaves of kale, stemmed and roughly chopped (I added more, about 2 cups)
2 cups of drained freshly cooked white beans, or one 15-ounce can of white beans, rinsed and drained
Pepper
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh Italian parsley
In a large pot, heat
the oil over medium heat, and add the onion, carrot, leek and a pinch of salt.
Cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and rosemary, and cook for 3
more minutes. Add the vegetable stock, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the kale
and beans, and simmer for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir
in the parsley and serve.