Healing Winter Comfort Food

This soup is called “Valencia” Soup because it is inspired by San Francisco’s Valencia Whole Food’s Coconut Green Lentil Curry Soup. When I lived in the mission this soup was all I craved, ever. I mean that sincerely. The only downside to this pot of green, goopy, gold is that it wasn’t always available. And getting my hopes up that “today would be the day” for Curry Soup, only to find Vegetable Barley Soup sitting on its throne, was sometimes too difficult a reality to bare. So one particularly dreary day when the low of being offered Vegetable Barley Soup passed, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I got the ingredients to replicate the goopy elixir as best I could. It has taken years to fine tune the spice ratio to match Valencia Whole Food’s, while adding my own healing touch. Every foodie has their version of “Coconut Curry Lentil Soup”, so here is mine. Inspired by my old stomping grounds and a need for the ultimate healing Winter comfort food.

This Coconut Green Lentil Curry Soup really is the magical cure for whatever Winter brings your way, be it a rainy day, seasonal sickness, cold apartment, emotional overwhelm, bad mood, menstrual cramps, head ache, hang over, or just plain ol’ hangry hunger. It’s filled with carminative herbs to calm the digestive system, lentils for a vegetarian source of protein, soothing and sumptuous coconut milk, mineral rich broth, and immune boosting power houses – greens, turmeric, ginger, green onion, and garlic. You can switch up your vegetables to anything you like – kale for spinach, carrots for sweet potato, potato for cauliflower, etc. My one recommendation is to make a big batch to last a few days without the greens and then add the appropriate portion of greens when warming up your serving.

Valencia Coconut Lentil Curry Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil

• 1 in turmeric root, grated (or ½ tbsp. dry)

• 1 in ginger root, grated (or ½ tbsp. dry)

• 3-4 cloves garlic, grated  

• ½ tbsp ground coriander

• ½ tbsp ground cumin

• ½ tbsp garam masala

• 1 tbsp curry powder

• 1 onion, diced

• Salt to taste ~ 1 -2 tsp

• 3 roma tomatoes, diced (or 1 cup canned)

• 3 medium carrots, chopped

• 1 russet or 2 small red potatoes, chopped

• 1 cup green lentils, soaked for 1-4 hours, drained

• 6-8 cups broth (low sodium, vegetable, chicken, or bone)

• 1 can coconut milk

• 2 -3 cups chopped kale or collard greens, stalk removed (1 bunch)

• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (leaves and stems)

• Garnish: Cilantro, Green Onions, Coconut Yogurt (optional)

Directions:

1.     Heat soup pot over medium heat, melt fat. Add spices and heat until fragrant, careful not to burn – about 1-2 minutes. Add onion and sauté until translucent.

2.     Add tomato, carrot, and potato and cook for ~5 minutes. Season with 1 tsp salt. Add lentils and broth, cover, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Can add more broth or water to thin out. Once lentils are cooked, stir in coconut milk and warm through. Taste and more salt if needed.

3.     When ready to serve, remove from heat and add kale and ½ cup cilantro at last minute. This retains its vibrancy and lose less vitamin content. Garnish with extra cilantro, green onions, and dollop of coconut yogurt. This soup is even better the next day.