Black-Eyed Pea, Mushroom & Baby Kale Soup ~ Vegan

My Version

Black-Eyed Pea, Mushroom & Baby Kale Soup ~ Vegan

The bold personality of these beers calls for soup with substance. This vegan soup delivers big, rich, umami-laden flavour to stand up to the big flavours in hop-forward IPAs. The most important consideration when matching beer with food is weight. More specifically, the weight of both sides of the pairing needs to be equal so that one doesn’t overwhelm the other. The ingredients in this soup build on each other to create a dish that can withstand all that a highly charged IPA can throw at it.  This vegan soup is packed with flavour. It gets its savoury meatiness from the umami-rich miso paste and chewy oyster mushrooms.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1 cup (250 mL) onion, finely chopped
1 cup (250 mL) celery, finely chopped
3 tbsp (45 mL) garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lb (225 g) brown cremini mushrooms, quartered
1/4 lb (115 g) oyster mushrooms, sliced into thin strips
4 cups (1 L) mushroom or vegetable stock
1 tbsp (15 mL) red miso paste
1 can (540 mL) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 bay leaf, fresh or dry
2 cups (500 mL) baby kale
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery, and cook for 10 minutes until golden.

Reduce heat, add garlic and both mushrooms, and cook for 15 minutes.

Slowly add stock, miso paste, black-eyed peas and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in kale and allow to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and serve.
Serves 4