On cold days, there is nothing better than coming home to a warm bowl of veggie soup with a nice piece of bread on the side.
In my family, we even have a kale soup-related tradition: when someone arrives from abroad – because we all live in different countries – , we always have a warm pot of soup ready waiting for them. This is our way of saying ‘I love you’ 🙂
This is not my traditional Portuguese family recipe, but it is one of my favourites as it is very nutrient dense, loaded with plant based iron and vitamins. What’s not to love?
Ingredients:
⌁2 carrots, peeled and chopped
⌁2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
⌁300g kale, chopped
⌁400g lentils
⌁1tbsp sundried tomato paste
⌁1 1/2 tsp chopped smoked garlic
⌁1/2 tsp ginger paste
⌁1 small onion
⌁400g peeled tomatoes canned
⌁Vegetable stock to cover
⌁1/2 tbsp olive oil
⌁Chilli flakes and nutritional yeast to top
Method:
Soak the lentils for at least 6 hours before you use them, then wash them well. If you don’t have dried lentils on hand you can also use canned ones, just make sure to give them a good rinse.
In a large pot, add your olive oil and chopped onion and fry until translucent, then add the garlic and the ginger paste as well as your sundried tomato paste and fry for another minute. Be careful not to burn this mixture as garlic tends to burn very quickly. This is the flavour base for your soup.
Add all your chopped veggies and peeled canned tomatoes, then cover with veggie stock. Add salt to taste if needed.
Simmer until all the veggies are tender and the lentils are no longer crunchy – this will take around 40mins. The longer you cook this soup, the more the flavours will marry and the better it will be.
Optional: Using a hand blender, blend 1/3 of the soup, then add it back into the pot. This will give the soup a nice, creamy texture. Top with nutritional yeast and chilli flakes and enjoy!
