Warm Up to Fall with Healthy, Hearty Soup!
The trick to staying healthy all autumn long is by staying WARM! Feasting on nourishing soup is one of Chinese Medicine’s simplest secrets for staying healthy, energized, and strong. Here’s why we love a warm bowl of lentil soup:
- Soup is incredibly versatile and easy to make as a healthy meal or side.
- Soup is warming to the digestive tract and stimulates the metabolism.
- Soup can be packed with vitamins and nutrients that support the immune system and encourage health.
Harvest Lentil Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound raw pumpkin or butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 4 cups vegetable stock or water
- 3/4 cup dried du Puy lentils or red lentils
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 packed cups shredded kale
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- additional fresh thyme and pumpkin seeds to garnish
Directions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil gently over medium heat. Add the diced onion and saute, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Tip in the chunked pumpkin and the thyme leaves. Cook with the onion for about a minute, then pour in all of the stock.
- Rinse the lentils in a fine sieve under cold running water, then add them to the pot. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Bring the soup up to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Simmer soup for 25-30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender and the lentils are cooked.
- Add the kale all at once, stirring well to submerge it in the broth. Pour in the vinegar. Cook the soup for another minute or two to wilt the kale. Then taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a sprinkling of thyme leaves, pepitas and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Finally, enjoy! Keep left-over soup in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or make extra to freeze!
