Autumnal sweet potato, chard & lentil soup

Soup season has just begun to linger around these parts of north florida - not that the cold weather is the only time to enjoy soup - but who doesn’t want a warm bowl of heartiness to cuddle up with on these cold and wet fall/winter days. This one is a keeper. Bright red lentils and Rainbow chard blended with vegetable power and digestive fire that delivers steam and energy throughout the day. So go find a quiet chilly kitchen, turn up the heat and the tunes, and get your soups on.


Ingredients:

Vegetable Stock:
8 cups of water
1 sweet potato, diced into 1 inch cubes
3 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 knuckles of ginger
1 yellow onion
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 sage leaves, chopped
Salt

Soup:
Lentils
Rainbow Chard, greens and stalks, chopped
 

Method:

1. Boil 8 cups of water in a large pot. Add all the vegetable stock ingredients, cover with lid and reduce heat to simmer for 40 minutes until the broth tastes flavorful.

2. Meanwhile cook the lentils. About 1 cup of lentils to three cups of water should do the trick.

3. When the vegetable stock is done, fish out the bay leaves and pour into a blender or use an immersion blender until smooth. Add more water if the soup is too thick for your liking. Then add the soup to your lentils along with your chopped chard. Let simmer on medium-low for a few minutes until your greens are cooked. Garnish with sage and enjoy with a chunk of bread and drizzle of thick green olive oil.