kale

KALE, SWEET POTATO, RED LENTIL AND TOM YUM SOUP

KALE, SWEET POTATO, RED LENTIL AND TOM YUM SOUP

After the unusually warm autumn it is finally starting to feel much chillier. I noticed myself picking up the pace when walking my dog this morning in an attempt to warm up. I am not complaining, to me cold weather means I can eat lots of gorgeous comforting soups.

This soup is a favourite of mine, I am surprised that it has not made it onto my blog yet. Maybe it because I have never measured anything when cooking it. And I don’t seem to be to consistent when making it either, there seem to be a few variations to this recipe. I have made suggestions below the recipe if you want to try them out. It is so easy to make that it became one of my staples whenI was in college, I would cook it in the morning and take it in a flask for lunch.

This soup is full of flavour, high in protein, comforting and pleasantly spicy. I use a shop bought Tom Yum paste for speed (I have been planning to make my own but somehow nit hasn’t happened yet...). Just make sure you buy one without shrimp paste, I found a shrimp free one in an Asian supermarket). A Thai red curry paste is a good substitute but will not give the soup the same hot and sour undertones.


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KALE, SWEET POTATO, RED LENTIL AND TOM YUM SOUP
Serves 4

ingredients
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs - 2 tbs tom yum paste (or red curry paste)
3 kaffir lime leaves
2 orange flesh sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1cm dice
1 cup of red lentils
5 cups of water (4 cups if using tinned coconut milk)
50g (2oz) coconut cream (or tin of coconut milk)
4 cups of shredded kale
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice to taste
chilli flakes to taste

method
  • Heat 60ml (1/4 cup) water in a stock pot, add onion and garlic and cook till the onions soften.
  • Add the tom yum paste, kaffir lime leaves, sweet potato, lentils and 5 cups of water and coconut cream.
  • Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook for 20 min or until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.
  • Next add the shredded kale and cook for further 10min.
  • Season with salt and pepper.
  • Serve with lime juice (I use up to juice of half a lime for my portion) and some crushed chilli flakes.

Variations:
Add tomatoes
- add 4-5 medium ripe tomatoes or a tin of chopped tomato after adding the tom yum paste, cook for 5-10min to soften, use one less cup of water
Change the greens - instead of kale you can use spinach (no need to cook, just let the spinach wilt in hot soup)
Change the sweet potatoes - use pumpkin or butter nut squash
Make it lower in fat - omit the coconut milk or cream, it will still taste delicious; you can add the above mentioned tomatoes instead
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