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I’m back with an Hearty Kale and Tomato Soup recipe. It’s actually a pantry recipe made with things I already had in the kitchen. Since winter is almost over, I wanted to share just one more soup recipe because it’s just so easy!
This soup is much more hearty than your traditional tomato soup but the generous helping of tomatoes helps make this dish. Did you know that MSG naturally occurs in tomatoes? Yeah. This is why seasonal, salted tomatoes taste so good!
In the winter, I always use canned tomatoes for obvious reasons. And in this recipe, I double down on the umami by adding both Italian canned tomatoes and a jar of Mexican red salsa to add even more richness.
Bulgur wheat is the grain for this soup and loads of nutrients come from the chickpeas, kale, carrots and leeks.
So how do we make it our Hearty Kale and Chickpea Tomato Soup?
It’s super easy. First, we add a head of crushed and chopped garlic and roughly chopped ginger into the instant pot and sauté them in oil.
On sauté mode, we cook the chopped carrots, sliced leeks and the chopped potatoes with a tablespoon of cumin and a teaspoon of kosher salt. We stir regularly and let it cook for a few minutes. If the bottom of the pan browns a tiny bit, don’t worry.
We turn off the Instant Pot and add both the salsa and the canned tomatoes, including the juice of the tomatoes in the can. The juices from both containers will help deglaze the bottom of the pot. We stir until everything is deglazed and turn off the Instant Pot. Ensuring that the bottom is deglazed will prevent burning.
After deglazing, we add everything else: the chickpeas, kale, bulgur wheat and water. Stir and pressure cook for 4 minutes. When done, carefully do a manual release to let out the steam. Stir and ladle into bowls. Top each bowl with a drizzle of good olive oil and maybe even some fresh ground black pepper to taste. Optional cilantro or Italian parsley for garnish.
Hearty Kale and Chickpea Tomato Soup
Hearty, gingery and garlicky kale and chickpea tomato soup made in the Instant Pot for ease.
Ingredients
- 1 head of garlic, peeled, crushed and roughly chopped
- 2 inches ginger, unpeeled and roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 leek, thinly sliced into half rings
- 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
- 1 russet potato, unpeeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces
- 1 16 oz jar of your favorite red, chunky salsa
- 14 oz can of diced Italian tomatoes (like actually from Italy)
- 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 bunch of kale, stems removed and leaves torn into 2–3 inch pieces
- 1 cup bulgur wheat, rinsed
- 6 cups of water
- Avocado oil for coating pan
Instructions
- Bring Instant Pot to sauté mode and add enough avocado oil to cover the bottom of the pot. Add the garlic, ginger, carrots, potatoes, leeks, cumin and half a tablespoon of salt into the pan. Stir well to mix. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the kale, salsa, diced tomatoes, bulgur wheat, chickpeas and water and mix well again to deglaze the bottom of the pot. The juices from the tomato can helps with this.
- Turn off sauté mode and cover the pot with the lid, fully sealing it.
- Turn on pressure cook mode and cook at 4 minutes.
- When done, release manually.
- Serve with good olive oil on top. Garnish with cilantro or Italian parsley (optional)
Notes
- Any generic red salsa should work so long as it’s chunky. It helps with both taste and texture. I have not tested this with a red mango salsa yet.
- Make sure the potatoes are actually cut at half an inch so they cook through.
