Two lentil veggie soup

Every year my employer closes between Christmas and New Years Day, we all super look forward to that well deserved time off. But inevitably, we have a super hectic month of December before the special Winter break starts, lots of year end tasks to be completed, lots of preparation to reschedule daily routines that shouldn't be in place during a time where we can't get immediate help... it's a super busy month!

I'm already a huge fan of cooking large batches of food to save time and this month my routine is no different, I try to have lots of prepared food in the fridge to make things easier during this busy time.

This week I got really lucky with this last minute combination of vegetables and made this soup that not only came out delicious and nutritious but the texture was also a winner. It was one of those soups made with what I had at home without any recipe planning.

A couple days before I had made this recipe (It was soooo delicious! Definitely check the recipe if you haven't yet!):

Thyme potato leek casserole

For the recipe I needed some “cashew milk”, so thinking of batch cooking I made enough for the casserole, but also some extra to use in soups or some other recipe.

🌿 2 cup of cashews

🌿 4 cups of water

🌿 4 tsp lemon juice

🌿 ½ tsp salt

✋🏾 Soak the cashews for a couple hours.

✋🏾 Drain the cashews and blend them with the water, lemon and salt. Blend until smooth.

✋🏾 Keep leftovers in a closed container in the fridge for a few days and when ready to use it just give it a stir.

I used 3 ½ cups in the casserole and the rest in this **Two lentil veggie soup:**

🌿 1 large head of cauliflower

🌿 1 ½ cup chopped onion

🌿 4 medium to large garlic cloves – minced

🌿 2 cups of a mix of chopped white and sweet potatoes

🌿 1 cup red lentils

🌿 1 cup brown lentils

🌿 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning

🌿 2 tsp dried thyme

🌿 ¼ tsp cayenne

🌿 1 tsp salt

🌿 15 oz tomato sauce

🌿 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

🌿 4 cups water

🌿 2 ½ cups cashew milk

🌿 4 to 6 cups of greens – I used Swiss chard and spinach

✋🏾 Chop the cauliflower into small size pieces and roast for about 30 to 40 minutes at 400F until it's browned. Check and stir a couple times. Oil is optional.

✋🏾 Start cooking the soup while the cauliflower is roasting.

✋🏾 Sautée the onion in a tiny bit of oil for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.

✋🏾 Add the garlic and sautée for a couple more minutes.

✋🏾 Add potatoes, lentils & spices and mix.

✋🏾 Add tomato sauce, broth & water and bring it to a boil.

✋🏾 Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

✋🏾 Add the “cashew milk”, the cauliflower and the greens, cover and cook for about 5 minutes or until the greens are wilted.

✋🏾 Top with some fresh cilantro (optional).

The combination of red and brown lentils added a great texture to the soup.

Don't be afraid of adding lots of greens, they will wilt a lot as you can see on the soup picture. I used Swiss chard and spinach but other greens like kale or beet greens would also be great in this soup.

Store leftovers in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. The soup will get a bit thicker afterwards.

https://cinnamon.video/watch?v=469719881772697425

Check this recipe for another soup with roasted cauliflower:

Roasted cauliflower soup

Cíntia