Green Kale & Sweet Potato Soup with Cumin and Lemon
Ingredients
- 2 med-large leeks, white and light green only
- 1 large red onion
- 2 Tbs. Driftless Sunflower Oil
- 1½ tsp. salt, more to taste
- 1 lb sweet potatoes
- 1 small red potato
- 2 green kale tops
- ⅔ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2- 2½ cups vegetable broth
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 Tbs. cumin seed
- 1-2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
- a pinch of hot pepper
- optional garnish: crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash and coarsely chop the leeks, using only the white and light green part, and chop the onion.
- Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and start sauteing the onions, with a sprinkle of salt.
- When they are translucent and soft, add the leeks and keep cooking, stirring often, until all the vegetables are golden, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes, scrub the small red potato, and cut them all into ½ inch chunks.
- Remove the leaves from the main stem of the kale top and then cut out the thicker stems of the individual leaves.
- Cut the greens into one-inch strips, or chop them very coarsely. Combine the sweet potatoes and kale in a soup pot with 5 cups (1¼ liter) cold water and a teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about fifteen minutes.
- Add the sautéed leeks and onions to the pot, along with the cilantro, and a lot of fresh ground black pepper. Add as much of the vegetable broth as you need to give the soup a nice consistency – this is a hearty soup, but not a stew, and it should pour easily from a ladle.
- Simmer the soup gently, covered, for about ten more minutes.
- Lightly toast the cumin seed in a dry pan, just until it is fragrant, and grind it in a mortar or spice grinder.
- Stir the cumin seed and a spoonful of lemon juice into the soup, and taste.
- Add more salt, pepper or lemon juice as needed, and finish with a pinch of cayenne or any red pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with a heaping spoonful of crumbled feta cheese.
