I’m not a vegetarian but I like to make vegetarian dishes as a way to boost my produce intake. We have subscribed to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) several times over the years. One of the blessings of a CSA is that it forces you to eat greens. One of the curses of a CSA is that is forces you to eat greens. I’ll admit that kale is my least favorite of all the leafy vegetables, but this recipe makes it tender and palatable.
The list of ingredients for Lentil Soup with Kale might suggest it would be rather bland, but some sort of alchemy takes place during the eight hours of cooking to yield a rich, comforting meal. I like to plug my crockpot into a timer the night before so that the soup is done for a weekend lunch. 4AM start equals noon yumminess.
This recipe is straight from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker though I’ve doubled it. (Make sure your crockpot has enough capacity to handle it.) This soup freezes well.
Ingredients:
2 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound dried lentils
12 cups vegetable broth
2 TBS soy sauce
1 bunch kale, at least 5-6 large leaves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Saute the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic for 8-10 minutes, until soft.
Place the cooked vegetables in the crock pot. Add the broth, lentils, and soy sauce. Set crockpot to low and allow to cook for 8 hours.
Prepare a pot of boiling salted water. Rinse kale well, and soak in cold water bath if it seems gritty. Remove leafy parts of the kale from thick ribs. Discard the ribs. Slice the leaves into thin strips. Boil the strips in the water for at least 5 minutes. Drain. Add to the crockpot. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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| A container of Lentil Soup with Kale ready to go into the freezer, with a yummy side of cornbread waiting for me to eat it just because I want to! |
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