Groovy Recipe: Lentil Kale Soup with Sweet Potato and Andouille

My dear friend and business partner recently gave birth to her fourth child, and I wanted to make a tasty, nourishing soup for her.  Lentil soup always makes me feel comforted and warm, and I always have dried lentils on hand, so I threw open the fridge to see what else I could throw in the pot.  Behold, a spicy, filling, extra-yummy soup that is so full of goodness, even the most exhausted Supermom will gain back some of her super powers after grubbing a bowl.

The wine was for me.

Lentil Kale Soup with Sweet Potato and Andouille

*serves 6(ish)

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable broth

1 cup dried lentils (I use green)

4 links cooked chicken andouille sausage, quartered and sliced

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups kale, torn into small pieces

1 large onion, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp coconut oil

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Heat the coconut oil in your stockpot over medium-high heat and add the onion.  Cook onion until translucent and it begins to just caramelize (about 10 minutes).  Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer.  Lower the heat to medium.  Add the lentils, sweet potatoes, and carrots.  Stir in the paprika, nutmeg, and turmeric.  Let simmer for 20 minutes, then stir in the sausage and garlic.  Let simmer another 10 minutes, or until the lentils and vegetables are tender.  Drop the heat to low and stir in the kale.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes, then remove from heat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grub.

You can spice up this soup to whatever heat you like.  I didn't want it to be too spicy for the postpartum mama, because she's breastfeeding.  And if you've been a postpartum mama, you know that spicy food is not always kind to your lower half.

The soup came out great.  So great in fact, that my friend got exactly one bowl out of the batch and her husband Bogarted the rest.