Green Healing Soup

Tim and I were both a little under the weather this past week, something I always forget how much I hate until it happens. This was the first time we’ve ever had colds together, at least anything that didn’t go away in a day, and whether it was holiday traveling, my weaker pregnant immune system or just a trickier virus that caused it, we’ve been using every natural remedy possible to knock it out fast. Case in point: this green-loaded, hearty, healing puréed soup. When Tim first told me everything that was going into it, I braced myself for the kind of soup I’d have to hold my nose to eat (kind of like this crazy powerful immunity booster that, yes, I also took sometime on Tuesday), so when I sipped the first bite and met instead ginger, cumin and a slight kick of heat, I was thrilled. We had it for dinner several nights in a row until the entire pot was gone, and then today we whipped up a fresh batch so I could share it with you.

Hey, Hey, PS! If you’re going to be in Nashville at the end of this month, we’d love to see you at our Einkorn Cookbook party, Thursday, January 29, 7 p.m. It will be held at Life Fitness Academy, which is minutes from downtown, and the $35 admission fee includes both a copy of the book and a bunch of snacks. (You can also get a discounted admission ($15) if you bring your own book.) To learn more or to RSVP, stay tuned to our Facebook page or reach out to LFA directly.

Green Healing Soup
Adapted from here, where it was described as, and I quote, filled with “more nutrients…than most people get in an entire week of eating”
Makes 6 to 8 servings

The idea behind this soup is to combine tons of nutrients in one single meal, but if you’re thinking that means it tastes like eating grass, think again. Thanks to the ginger, garlic and spices, this soup is far from boring. One word of warning though: if you taste it before adding salt and think bleh, don’t lose heart. A little salt brings out the natural flavorings and seriously changes everything.

Too thin? Too thick? If, when you start pureeing the soup ingredients, you find the resulting consistency is thicker or thinner than you would like in a soup, you can adjust. If it’s too thin, strain the remaining vegetables before pureeing them, and save their liquids as a nourishing vegetable broth. If it’s too thick, add broth or water as desired.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 handfuls fresh parsley, chopped (or, in a pinch, about a cup of chopped pea shoots)
1 or 2 handfuls fresh kale, chopped (about 6 or 7 cups)
1 or 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 raw nori seaweed sheet (the kind used to make sushi), roughly torn
2 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
About 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
1 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano (or a similar all-purpose seasoning)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Dash of turmeric powder
Dash of cayenne pepper
2 to 2.5 quarts water (or broth would work too)
Salt, to taste

Directions:
In a large 4-quart stockpot, combine all ingredients and warm over medium heat until mixture boils. Once boiling, reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Cool slightly, until it’s no longer scalding hot, and transfer by ladles into a high-powered blender. Working in batches, puree the soup until totally smooth. Return all the soup to the original pot and serve warm.

Salt bowls of soup as you serve them, in order to adjust to individual tastes. Leftovers may be frozen and thawed before heating up again later!

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