Karalahana Çorbası (Black Sea Cabbage / Kale Soup)

Based on the Kara Deniz’li (Black Sea) Karalahana Çorbası this is my (slightly less traditional) version of a deliciously wholesome recipe, where I have swapped the regional (Black Sea) cabbage for kale and have also added carrots and celery. Like any soup or stew, this tastes even better when it is left to settle before serving (patience is a virtue and a hungry person’s nemesis) and will inevitably taste better the next day. Full recipe on my blog, link in bio. 

Ingredients

1.5l boiling hot water

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube 

1 tsp salt

150g fresh kale, finely shredded and stalks removed (stalks can be finely chopped and added to the other finely chopped vegetables)

2 tbsp olive oil

15g butter 

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped 

250g white potatoes, peeled and finely chopped

200g carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely grated 

1 tbsp tomato purée 

1 tbsp tatlı biber salçası (Turkish sweet red pepper paste) 

1/2 tsp pul biber 

1/2 tsp coarse black pepper

40g fine cornmeal 

1 x 400g can borlotti beans, drained and washed

Method

Place the stock in a large pan on a high heat, add half of the salt, bring to the boil, add the kale then turn down to a simmer. 

Add the olive oil to a large frying pan on a medium heat, once hot, add the butter, and once melted, add the onion and the remaining salt, and soften for 10-12 minutes. Stir in the tomato and pepper pastes, pul biber and black pepper, stir really well until the onions are coated in the pastes, then add the rest of the chopped vegetables (apart from the garlic). Turn the heat down a little and soften the vegetables for a good few minutes until they are jammy and ever so slightly caramelised. Add the garlic to the pan, stir well for 30 seconds or so until the garlic releases its aroma, then sprinkle in the cornmeal, continuing to stir.

Add 3-4 ladlefuls of the stock from the kale pan to the frying pan, stirring to loosen the vegetables and dissolve the cornmeal, then carefully pour everything from the frying pan into the kale pan. Stir well, add the borlotti beans, stirring again, bring up to the boil and simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.

Turn the stove off, take the pan off the heat, pop the lid on and let the soup sit for at least 30 minutes for all the flavours to settle before serving. Traditionally served with cornbread.