Kale Soup

Chef Missy Robbins of Brooklyn's Lilia restaurant swaps chickpeas for pasta in her riff on spicy pomodoro. She finishes the dish with a shower of fresh herbs and salty pecorino cheese.

Combining Two Portuguese favorites--kale-and-sausage soup and a bean, sausage, and tomato stew--makes a simple, sensational one-pot meal. To keep the focus on the vegetables, we've used just a tiny amount of fresh sausage; you can add more, if you like, or substitute dried chorizo or pepperoni.

Simple chicken soup becomes extra special with healthy kale and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Inspired by Caribbean callaloo, this tropical, coconut-milk-spiked soup can be mildly or wildly spicy, according to your taste. If you like it hot, add some or all of the jalapeno seeds or a splash of Tabasco sauce.

"I love a really flavorful pot of greens," says Melissa Perello. For this kale-and-cabbage soup, she uses just a little bit of pancetta and a Parmesan-cheese rind to give the broth a rich flavor. "It's definitely the kind of dish that tastes even better the next day," she says.

This light yet hearty, healthy soup from Philadelphia chef Michael Solomonov gets extra flavor from charred onion and warm, sweet spices like ginger and cinnamon.

Jacob's cattle beans are striking in appearance: white with dark red speckles. Their meaty, creamy texture makes them great here. Pinto beans are a fine substitute.

This hearty soup is quick, easy-to-make, and features an abundance of flavor thanks to the winning combo of kale and potatoes.

This lively coconut-kale soup gets a dose of Asian flavor from fish sauce, lemongrass and chili paste.

Minestra is a light, brothy Italian soup with vegetables. "In this version, I saute Tuscan kale and butternut squash with onion, garlic and rosemary, then simmer them in chicken stock with pasta and white beans," Grace Parisi says.

"I love food that makes noise," says Edward Lee, chef and owner of Louisville, Kentucky's 610 Magnolia and the Wine Studio. When F&W challenged the Top Chef Season 9 contestant to make a fast dish with pork, kale and white wine, he created a deeply flavorful soup, then added crumbled rice cakes that crackle as they hit the broth. The dish is based on one he likes from a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese spot in Manhattan's Chinatown. "They make a big deal out of adding the rice, so you can celebrate the sizzling sound," Lee says.