Curried Ontario Carrot and Kale Soup, Gluten Free

 

Hiya followers! March is finally here and the sun is shining! Hurrah!

Throughout this cold and relentless winter there has been a constant in our kitchen... Soup! I'm one of those people who is always freezing and this harsh winter has almost gotten the best of me. The only thing I've been craving is a hot bowl of delicious soup. I can just imagine that bowl warming up my chilled fingers and making me feel like I just got wrapped up in my fave blanket! Soup is one of the simplest things to make and also, so versatile! Once you have the knack of soup making, your pot will never be empty and you'll be surprised at how creative you can be. This week I had an abundance of carrots and a huge bunch of dark leafy green kale. Together with some curry powder that I found in the pantry and a piece of ginger in the freezer (I'll explain that one after the recipe!), I was good to go. Let's get cookin'!

 

Simple and Tasty Recipe:

 

Curried Ontario Carrot and Kale Soup, Gluten Free

(serves 4 to 6)

 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 onion, chopped

5 large carrots, peeled and chopped

1 large potato, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2 to 3 tsp curry powder

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

4 cups water, vegetable or chicken stock

2 cups kale, washed, trimmed and chopped into bite size pcs

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

 

In a large pot heat the oil and butter on medium heat. Add in the onions, carrots and potato, stir and cook for about 5 mins until the onions are soft. Next, stir in the garlic, curry powder, cayenne and bay leaf with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about a minute more. Pour in the water/stock, bring the soup to a boil and turn down to medium low and partially cover. Simmer for about 25 mins until the carrots are fully cooked. Puree half of the soup with either an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor and then return to the pot. Stir in the kale and simmer for a few minutes until the kale is tender. Stir in the chopped parsley, taste and adjust the seasoning. Enjoy!

Oh, soup... So good, so easy, so tasty and so warm! Now, I did mention earlier that I freeze ginger. Let me explain: I used to throw out quite a lot of ginger. I would buy a nice piece for a recipe, not use it all and end up tossing the ginger in the green cart. One day, I decided to put the leftover ginger in a bag and toss it into the freezer to see what would happen. Well, it turned out to be a great thing and I've been doing it ever since! I simply get the ginger from the freezer, allow it to sit at room temp for a few minutes and then grate it on my rasp/microplane or slice a piece off and chop it. I find the ginger actually grates easier from frozen and I prefer it that way! Afterwards, just put the leftover ginger back into the freezer. It lasts for months this way.

Alrighty followers, stay warm and I'll be back soon!