tomato almond soup

Two bulgur soup recipes in a week is a little much, web but I haven’t cooked anything else this week aside from some uninspiring noodles last night. Monday’s recipe was decidedly Asian, angina so I tried to get as far from that as possible for today’s soup.

And so, healthful I went Spanish. I made a nice broth from fire-roasted tomatoes and smoked paprika and added bulgur for weight and texture and a little kale for color and vitamins. I think this soup would be really lovely with some giant Lima, fava or butter beans, but I only had dark red kidneys in the pantry so those went in instead. Finally, I topped the soup off with a hearty drizzle of good olive oil and some slivered almonds.

It’s actually “cold” in Miami — a low of 58° today (!) — and the slightly spicy, smoky flavors of the soup will warm me right up. (Stop rolling your eyes northerners.)

I just noticed that 3 of my last 5 recipes have been for soup! That’s just crazy. Tomorrow’s will break the soup-y routine I’ve been on. Promise.

Tomato Almond Soup

1.5 cups bulgur
28 oz. Fire-Roasted tomatoes – diced or whole (I like Muir Glen)
1 15 oz. can of dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1 cup kale, chopped and stalks and hard parts removed
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/3 cup slivered almonds (plus more for garnish)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
good olive oil for drizzling

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot on medium high. Add the bulgur to the dry pot to toast it for about a minute, or until it becomes slightly fragrant. Add the tomatoes, stock, water, kidney beans, kale, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and simmer for 20 minutes until the bulgur becomes tender. Stir in the almonds and black pepper and serve with a pretty pinch of almonds and a good drizzle of olive oil.