Always looking for tasty ways to create delicious veggie-based soups, I decided this week to experiment with an ingredient I rarely use... Ginger! It isn't that I don't like Ginger; it's just an ingredient that I often don't think of using. I've seen other recipes for ginger-spiced soups that always include carrots, so I thought I'd start there.
This hearty and nutrient-dense soup is a perfect, quick and easy dinner, with plenty of delicious leftovers for lunch the next day. Packed with sliced carrots, Italian lentils, and a blend of other aromatic spices, like turmeric, cumin and coriander, this is a lighter soup than most of my recipes, but still very satisfying. The addition of almond milk, with a little immersion blending, adds a creamy richness, while the baby spinach lends of pop of vibrant color and a boost of nutrients.
As I always recommend, enjoy a big bowl of this soup with a nice slice of rosemary or sourdough bread for a complete and comforting meal!
Ingredients:
3 or 4 large whole carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 can Italian lentils, rinsed and drained*
1 Tbsp vegan butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium sweet onion (Vidalia recommended)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp ground ginger**
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
2-4 pinches salt to taste
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup almond milk
1 cup baby spinach leaves***
Toasted rosemary or sourdough bread slices
Instructions:
Melt vegan butter with olive oil in a stock pot or Dutch oven.
Add carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander and salt.
Sauté veggies and spices over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are soft. Add a splash of veggie broth if needed to prevent sticking.
Add the vegetable stock and lentils, and turn up heat. Bring to a low boil; then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. If soup is cooking too hard on low, slide cover open slightly to reduce internal heat. Soup should cook at a very low simmer.
Carrots should be fork-tender when soup is cooked. Using an immersion stick blender, carefully pulse the blender in the soup 8 to 10 times to slightly puree the consistency. Be careful of hot splashes, and do not to over-blend.
Stir in the almond milk and spinach, and continue heating on low for 5-7 more minutes. Taste for temperature, and add salt if needed.
Toast some sourdough or rosemary bread slices, and spread lightly with vegan butter.
Serve soup with toasted bread, and enjoy!
Notes:
*To save time, I often use canned lentils in my soup recipes. I really love the canned "Italian Lentils" that I buy at Wegmans. If you can't find them in your grocery store, regular canned lentils are fine.
**If you would prefer to use fresh ginger, you'll need 1 Tbsp grated.
***If you don't have fresh baby spinach leaves on hand, an easy substitute is to microwave 1 cup of frozen spinach on high for 90 seconds. Then stir the wilted spinach into the soup in the last five minutes of cooking.
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