When the cool October nights are upon us and I still have heaps of kale in my garden, this is the soup I make. I love that it uses up 4 cups of tightly packed chopped kale leaves and because the sweet potato is roasted in the oven prior to making the soup, it takes just minutes to put together. This soup tastes great made with either chicken broth or vegetable broth and can be made creamy by adding either full-fat coconut milk to the soup or serving each bowl with a dollop of sour cream.
3tbspolive oilused to coat the sweet potato halves for roasting and to the sauté of the remaining vegetables
1largeonionpeeled and coarsely chopped
4clovesgarlicminced
1wholejalapeno seeded and chopped (You can omit the jalapeno if you do not want a spicy soup.)
4cupskalestemmed and chopped
4cupschicken brothor substitute vegetable broth
1tspground cumin
1tspground ginger
1tspground coriander
½tspground turmeric
optional ½-1 cup full-fat coconut milkThe nutritional information at the bottom of this recipe does not include the coconut milk.
Instructions
To roast the sweet potato:
Line a baking sheet with tin foil and preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cut the sweet potato in half, and rub 1 tablespoon olive oil over both sides of each half. Place the halves cut side down on the baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the flesh is nice and soft.
Make the soup:
To the 8-litre pot add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat on medium-high. Add the chopped onions and sauté for 12 minutes, stirring often. Cook until slightly browned and well softened.
Add the chopped garlic and jalapeno and sauté for one minute.
Add the spices and stir them into the mixture. Cook for about one minute to awaken the flavour in the dried spices. Add a splash or two of water if the spices really stick.
Add the chopped kale and stir constantly to encourage the kale to wilt. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the broth and bring to a boil. Scoop the sweet potato out of the skins into the pot and then warm the soup through.
Blend the soup in batches with a blender or use a hand immersion blender right in the pot. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Notes
If you choose to use one-half cup of full-fat coconut milk, the calories per serving will be 229 kcal (assuming 5 servings.)