As far as I’m concerned, winter and fall means soup season. Sometimes all you need to feel comforted on a cold night is a steam fragrant bowl of brothy soup. This recipe harkens back to my childhood, when my Greek grandmother would make fasolada. Ironically, it has always been my least favorite soup. But rather than give up on  my yiayia’s beloved soup recipe, I went about changing the recipe to give it a bit more pizzaz and flavor. I added some chili flakes, bits of kale, and a generous chunk of parmesan rind. Basically, I turned fasolada into an Italian bean soup. Hopefully, my grandmother isn’t rolling over in her grave. Sorry, yiayia! But hey, what can I say? These additions took my grandmother’s soup from blandish to totally delish! 

For the soup:

1 bag (16 ounces) Great Northern Beans

6 cups water

1 bay leaf

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup carrots, diced

1/2 cup celery diced

1 cup tomato, diced

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

3/4 cup olive oil

1 small can (5 ounces) V8 juice

salt & pepper to taste

pinch of chili flakes

parmesan rind

1 cup dino kale, torn into pieces

Pour the beans into a pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 30 minutes. Discard the water and rinse the beans. Place the beans back on the stove with 6 cups of fresh water. Add the bay leaf and bring back to a boil. Add in 1 tablespoon of salt, your onion, carrots, celery, tomato, and fresh thyme. Stir in half the olive oil. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add the remaining olive oil, V8 juice, chili flakes, fresh ground pepper, and parmesan rind. Continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes, until the beans are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the kale. Allow to cool slightly. Taste and adjust salt and pepper accordingly.