Green Goddess Soup (Hearty Leafy Green Soup with Green Lentils)

       Last night I decided I hadn't had enough greens for the day, so I decided to make a soup PACKED full of greens. I figured I was better off making soup than turning the oven on to make a lasagna. My fridge was filled with a variety of greens from my CSA basket from Rye's HomeGrown. I've been loving my weekly helping of fresh veg. It's really cool. Every Wednesday I work a shift selling the produce at Ryerson's Farmers' Market, and I go home with my bike basket overflowing with local organic produce. We've barely had to do groceries these past couple of months, besides our staples.

      The trick to this soup is putting pretty much every green you have into it. Seriously, I put turnip greens, spinach, swiss chard, kohlrabi, and a bit of kale. (I had to use up last weeks bounty before I get more goodies tomorrow!) Throw those luscious greens with a delicious stock, some lentils, onions and potatoes, and you have yourself a scrumptious soup. And for those trying to watch their waste line, eating more greens is a great way to start. One 2-cup bowl of this hearty green soup will cost you under 250 calories (and it's totally worth every calorie).

       I topped  my hearty green soup with a mixture of microgreens from Rye's HomeGrown, including basil and cilantro microgreens along with pea shoots. So tasty!

Serves: 6-10
Time: 1h 10min

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp red chili flakes
• 2 medium-large onions, roughly chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander 
• 1 cup green or french lentils
• 4 cups water

• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 medium kohlrabi bulb (about the size of a fist, alternatively use turnip or an additional potato)
• 1 small bunch of swiss chard ( about 7-8 leaves), stems and greens separated and chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 cups stock + 4 cups water or 1 bouillion cube with 6 cups water

• 10oz/280g spinach, kale and/or turnip greens, stems removed, chopped 
• Kohlrabi greens (or about 2oz/56g more greens, such as collard greens or kale), stems removed, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil with chili flakes over medium heat. When hot add the onion.
2. Let the onion saute for a couple of minutes before adding the minced garlic, cumin and coriander. Let saute for about 2-4 more minutes or until onions are transleucent.
3. Next, stir in the dry lentils, add the 4 cups of water and cover. Raise the temperature and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile chop the potatoes, kohlrabi (discard stems) and chard stems, and the rest of your greens.
5. After 10-15 minutes, add the diced potatoes, kohlrabi and chopped swiss chard stems and let simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes before adding the greens.
6. Add the chopped fresh greens in batches, stirring in between.
7. Add seasonings, including salt and pepper, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. Let simmer for about 10 minutes before removing from the heat.
8. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving with toasts, microgreens, sauteed mushrooms, whatever you feel like!