Peasant-y Soup

I'm slowly working on such things as a business plan and vision for The Green Hearth. Till I am ready to launch, I thought I would fill this blog with recipes, links and information that I find yummy or interesting.

I LOVE this soup. I don't make it the same way twice, but every time I make it it comes out even better than the time before.

Peasant Soup

Cut up & saute some onions, carrots, celery, a medium butternut squash, 2 sweet potatoes with some olive oil and add spices such as mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, turmeric, anything you have around that you like. The mustard seeds and coriander seeds can be toasted first in the olive oil to bring out their taste. I recently tried not peeling the squash and once cooked and blended it is just fine.

Add 1-2 cups red lentils and enough soup stock to cover everything, bring to a boil, add some kombu (a hard seaweed that adds a saltiness and helps with gas).

Cook until all soft, remove kombu if you like, blend with a hand blender and then add thinly sliced collard greens (I like lots), kale or chard and simmer until still green but cooked. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger and add a splash of apple cider vinegar to round out the taste. Fresh chopped parsley and cilantro are great. A variation would be cooking everything with a can of organic tomatoes or tomato paste (add a teaspoon of honey or sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes).

Perfect autumn/ winter food served either on it's own, with rice or grain, yogurt on top or with a rye or pumpernickel bread. Yummy.