Friday, October 13, 2006

RECIPE ~ Creamy Kale Soup


Wow! This exquisite soup is courtesy of Szos and Jenny from the Recipe Club and let me tell you, it is simply perfect. Wholesome, filling, delicious, and full of fibre, nutrients and flavour. Fall weather is here, time to make some soup!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup French lentils (or lentils of your preference/dosha)
1/2 cup brown rice or quinoa (I like to use half-and-half)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch of kale (Szos and Jenny prefer black or “dinosaur” kale, but any kale will do!)
5 cups water

SPICES
1 tsp of garlic powder (heaping, or as desired)
1 tsp of cumin powder (heaping, or as desired)
1/2 tsp of curry powder
1 tsp of sea salt, to taste

TAHINI DRESSING
1 Tbsp tahini (heaping, or as desired)
2 Tbsp flax oil
Bragg's Liquid Aminos to taste


Prior to cooking, add all spices together in a small bowl and mix well (prevents clumping when added to the cooking pot later). Wash kale and chop finely.

Add olive oil to a pre-heated cooking pot on medium temperature. Once oil is hot, add onions and cook until soft. Add spices, being careful to blend well. Then add lentils and brown rice/quinoa right away and stir well. When that is done, add chopped kale and mix.

At this stage, take a moment to appreciate how beautiful the mixture looks -- but not too long, because the water must now be added. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 45 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, combine tahini, flax and Bragg's in 2 dinner bowls; mix until texture is smooth and creamy. When the soup is ready, puree with a hand blender (or transfer to a blender and puree)* then ladle into bowls. Mix the soup with the tahini dressing really well. Serves 2 hungry adults. Delicious with chapatis on the side.

*If more texture is desired, skip the hand blender (or blend only half the soup) and serve.

FOR INDIVIDUAL DOSHAS
VATAS use red lentils or split mung beans; use rice or quinoa; replace kale with zucchini, asparagus or artichoke
PITTAS use white rice (avoid quinoa); omit garlic powder; reduce tahini by half
KAPHAS use quinoa (avoid rice); reduce tahini, salt and all oils by half

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I made this soup last night. I used Rappini greens (since they were on sale) and mung beans for instead of french lentils and basmati rice since I was out of the other grains and it was delish!

Anonymous said...

How much Kale is 1/2 bunch? I am picking Kale from the garden so I have no idea. Could you please tell me in cups

Claudia Davila (Fran) said...

Hmm... I've seen bunches of kale that are like a flat head of lettuce, to more than twice that size. If I'd have to estimate how many cups of CHOPPED kale would go in this recipe, I'd say 2 full cups. That's great that you pick them fresh from your garden! :-)

Anique said...

Liquid amino's ... is that similar to Tamari?

Dina said...

Excellent soup! I modified it a bit, bit it was still lovely!