Spanish Chorizo, Kale and Cranberry Bean Soup with Oven-Dried Tomato-Garlic Toast

Serves 4 - recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Soup:

1/2 pound Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/2 pound kale, coarsely chopped
1 cup white wine
8 cups chicken stock
2 cups cranberry beans, soaked overnight [no need to soak when using the fresh ones from the farm!]

Heat a medium saucepan over high heat. Add chorizo and cook until lightly golden brown and fat has rendered. Remove chorizo to a paper-towel lined plate and pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and celery to the fat and cook until soft. Add the kale and cook until slightly wilted. Add the wine and the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the beans and cooked chorizo and cook until the beans and the kale are soft, about 1 hour. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with the toast.

Oven Dried Tomato Toast:

3 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/8-inch thick horizontally
1/2 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
12 slices of French baguette, sliced into 1/3-inch thick slices on the bias
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano


Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place tomatoes in the oven and bake in the oven for 6 to 8 hours or until the tomatoes are dried and have lost all of their moisture. Heat oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add garlic, remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Increase the heat in the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the bread on both sides with the garlic oil. Place a slice of tomato on each piece of bread, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with some of the oregano. Bake in the oven for 5 to10 minutes, until the bread is lightly golden brown.