A healthy, good for you, easy vegetarian kale soup that is loaded with nutrition and pureed into a smooth bowl of goodness! Simply replace the dairy with coconut cream and keep it vegan If you prefer.
Supernatural spinach, kale, a zucchini for texture, together with a bunch of herbs and a little kick from green chili peppers make this simply perfect!
Feel free to add a cup of cooked quinoa at the end to make it more of a hearty stew. I suspect this recipe is going to be on rotation at the shack all year long.
Often times I’ll add a couple of handfuls of baby spinach right after I pureed the soup and removed it from heat. The steam alone will wilt it and give it a nice rustic texture.
But just because I called it ” vegetarian ” doesn’t mean you can’t take it over to the carnivore paleo lane, right ? Because it goes well with:
- ricotta meatballs
- sprinkled with diced ham or crispy bacon bits
- pan seared sausage or chorizo
- top with leftover chicken carnitas or grilled chicken
Vegetarian Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 1 spanish onion -diced
- 1 carrot -diced
- 1 bunch kale -chopped
- 1 lb baby spinach
- 1 zucchini -diced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro or parsley -roughly chopped
- 4-5 c vegetable stock or water
- 1 green chili -sliced
- 1 chili pepper -sliced for garnish
- 1/2 c toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
- 10 sprigs fresh Cilantro (for garnish)
- Red pepper flakes to taste
- 1/2 c sour cream or greek yogurt for serving (optional)
- 1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom soup pot heat up a lug of the olive oil over medium flame. Add the diced onion and saute until translucent. Add the carrot and zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes until they start to soften.
- Stir in the kale and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes. Pour in 4 cups of the vegetable stock and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Allow to cook for a few minutes then stir in the baby spinach and chopped cilantro. Turn off the flame and cover with a lid. Allow the soup to sit for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted.
- Using a hand held immersion blender puree the soup to your liking, adding more stock If you prefer a thinner consistency. Season to your taste with the sea salt an red pepper flakes.
- Serve with a drizzle of sour cream, sprinkled with the pumpkin seeds and garnished with the cilantro sprigs and chile pepper slices.