Kale, Mushroom & White Bean Stew

Filled with kale, mushrooms & white beans, this healthy vegetarian stew is perfect for warming up in winter. Wine and balsamic vinegar add depth of flavor.

It’s Food Matters Project Monday, and this one might be a stretch. This week’s pick was coq au vin, and while I’m surely on board with the vin part, chicken isn’t my thing, and I wasn’t all that inspired to try a vegetarian version of it.

Jack and I were out at dinner on Friday night, and he just so happened to order coq au vin (what are the odds?). Never having tried the dish before I became vegetarian, I was surprised to see that it looked just like a rustic mushroom stew. So I took some Tuscan inspiration and decided to make a mushroom, white bean, tomato, and kale stew the next night. It turned out to be the perfect thing for a cool night and a low-key Saturday dinner at home on our patio.

Cooking the mushrooms with wine (and also a little balsamic), gave it a nice zing that balanced the hearty mushrooms and cannellini beans. Serve it with a nice bottle of red wine and some crusty bread.


4.9 from 8 reviews

Kale, Mushroom & White Bean Stew

 
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1.5 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon minced rosemary
  • ¼ cup wine (red or white, whatever you’re drinking)
  • Splash balsamic vinegar
  • 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, including the juice
  • 1 (14 oz) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups veggie broth
  • 1 bunch of kale, chopped (about 4-5 cups)
  • Sea salt and fresh black pepper
  • Fresh basil, chopped, for garnish
  • Pecorino cheese, for shaving on top (optional)
Instructions
  1. In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and a few pinches of salt and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic, carrot, mushrooms, and rosemary and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have cooked down (3-5 or more minutes).
  2. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and stir to get any bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 1 minute or so. Add the splash of balsamic vinegar, tomatoes, beans, and broth. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
  3. Add the kale and simmer for 5 more minutes, until wilted.
  4. Taste and adjust seasonings. At this point, I added a generous amount of salt and few grinds of pepper.
  5. Top with the chopped fresh basil and shavings of pecorino cheese, if using.
  6. Serve with crusty bread and red wine.

 

 

28 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Rebecca
    01.20.2022

    I am thinking of adding some diced potatoes instead of serving with bread – do you think that would work? If so, when would you recommend adding?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      01.20.2022

      Hi Rebecca, I think that would be great, I’d add them with the tomatoes and beans. They will thicken the soup so you may want to add more broth if it gets too thick.

  2. Robin
    10.03.2021

    Can you freeze this soup?

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.