Curried Butternut and Green Lentil Soup w/ Kale

This beautiful soup has a rich complexity of flavor, and is hearty and satisfying, especially in the colder months. :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium butternut squash, peeled and diced

2 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon hot or mild curry powder

1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

1 cup green lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained

5 cups vegetable broth

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 cups chopped stemmed kale

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large preheated soup pot on medium heat (test to see water beads up and zips around), saute the onion until translucent, then add squash, and garlic and continue to saute for about 5 minutes.

2. Add a generous splash of the veggie broth, stir and deglaze the pan, then cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, you may skip the saute and add the aforementioned ingredients and simmer hands-free for 10 minutes)

3. Stir in the ginger and curry powder, then add the tomatoes, lentils, broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils and. vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

4. About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the kale. Taste, adjusting seasonings if neces- sary, and serve. Feel free to add extra curry powder or cayenne pepper if you like heat.

This makes about 4 large servings as written.

I usually double this recipe, and it will feed our family a couple times that way. It fills a large crockpot doubled as well. I also love using honeynut squash when it is in season instead of butternut for added sweetness and color vibrancy.

I recieved this recipe from my cousin some years back, and I think she may have gotten it out of a vegan cookbook. It's been a family favorite for several years now. I will often bring it to large family gatherings.

The original recipe had a small amount of olive oil, red lentils instead of green, and swiss chard instead of kale. I feel like the green lentils hold up better, and prefer their texture - but red lentils will come out softer. I also like that the kale holds up better at high heat than swiss chard and prefer it. I also doubled the garlic and ginger in the version above, because we love those flavors in our house. :)

Feel free to experiment and see what you like best!