by Marla Koss
Serves 4
A warming winter soup from Marla Koss, with both vegan and not vegan options! A cozy and yummy way to fit a lot of vegetables.
Note: This is a vegan recipe, but to make it unvegan, you can toss a couple boneless, skinless frozen chicken thighs into the pot when you cook the lentils or peas. In which case, pull the cooked chicken out of the pot once it’s done, chop it up and add back into the bowls of soup before serving.
Greens: 10 cups of either chopped kale leaves (tough ribs pulled out), baby kale leaves, arugula, chard or spinach, washed and drained. If you’re using tougher kale leaves, put the kale in a big pot on the stove and cook in about 2 cups of water until it’s tender (and add the water to the soup pot to cook the lentils or split peas in).
Combine in a large pot or soup kettle:
- 1 cup uncooked lentils or split peas
- 2 cups water
- Several bay leaves
- 8 ounces diced, unpeeled potato (any type, or a mix of two or more, e.g. Russet / Yukon gold)
To a nonstick saute pan, add:
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
Saute onion in oil over a medium flame until onions are mostly caramelized (add a splash of water and/or turn down the heat if the onions are browning before they get soft).
Add to the onions:
- 4 or 5 large carrots, chopped
- ¼ cup water
Let the carrots cook and caramelize along with the onions.
When lentils (or split peas) and potatoes are soft, fish out the bay leaves, add the finished carrot/onion mixture and use a potato masher to help break chunks of potato and carrot down into lumps, so that soup is pleasantly thick and still a bit chunky.
Mix in:
- 2 or 3 minced garlic cloves (or about 1 Tsp garlic powder) and
- salt & pepper to taste
Before taking soup off heat, stir in the raw greens or the cooked chopped kale), and mix well. Let cook until the greens are limp and just cooked through.
