What to do with leftover pork roast?  There isn’t much eating a plate of pork with all the leftover sides that I can take.  So searching I found this recipe for a soup and of course had to alter it some! Don’t you get tired of rushing out to buy that one or two ingredients you don’t have? Then there are the things I don’t care for like cilantro, creamed corn… Any way; it is pretty darn tasty and a big change of pace from typical holiday food. You may call it a stew; not actually sure where the delineation between soup and stew is.  This is very chunky and hearty so maybe it is more a stew than a soup.

Pork, Black Bean and Poblano Soup: serves 6

1 poblano pepper, roasted

1 ½ tbsp mild olive oil

1 red onion; diced and divided (set aside ¼ of it)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 heaping tbsp. ground coriander

¾ tsp. ground cumin

1 32 oz box of chicken broth, low sodium preferred

2 cups chopped kale (dinosaur kale is my choice for this soup)

1 tbsp. basil pesto

½ can black beans, well rinsed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

¾ lb roasted fresh pork cut in ½ inch cubes

Cooked brown (or white) rice for serving

Garnishes:

Sour cream; 1-2 tbsp. per serving

¼ diced avocado per serving

¼ lime in a wedge to squeeze in your soup bowl

Some diced red onion or scallion rounds

Crushed tortilla chips

Chopped fresh cilantro (optional!)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan.  Add most of the red onion, sauté 4-5 minutes stirring often.  Add poblano pepper cut in ¼ inch dice, the minced garlic cloves and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add coriander and cumin and cook another 1-2 minutes.  Add broth and beans, bring to a simmer.  Add the chopped kale (Make sure you remove the ribs if you use dinosaur kale aka Tuscan kale.)  Cook 5-8 minutes until the kale gets tender.  Add the pesto, stir well.  Add the cubes of cooked pork and heat through out, add salt and pepper to your taste.  Ladle into large bowls that have about ¼ to 1/3 cup of rice in the bowl and top with the garnishes. I like it with the brown rice or minus any rice. Have had it with or without the crushed chips. My favorite chips are the multigrain ones from Aldi’s; perfect crunch and spot on flavor. Do crumble them a few at a time as you slurp the soup so some chips stay a bit crunchy.  I also tried it with scallion rounds instead of red onion; works great too.  You will love that you can use any combination of toppings to vary the flavors. That is something I appreciate about this soup.

 

This recipe originated on Food Network; titled Pork and Poblano Soup; there were a number of changes I made.