Lentil, carrot, and kale soup with crème fraîche and dill is a nourishing meal and perfect for a cold day.
For this soup, I recommend soaking the lentils overnight. This is an important step because lentils contain anti-nutrients that require neutralization. In fact, this goes for all nuts, seeds, grains and legumes. Nuts and seeds contain enzyme inhibitors that block digestion – potentially causing negative effects on the health of the body. Grains and legumes contain phytic acid that robs the body of important minerals like magnesium, calcium, zinc, copper and iron.
Over time, when we consume these foods without properly preparing them, serious health issues like leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and autoimmune problems can arise.
Soaking these lentils may sound intimidating, but it’s actually very easy! It basically involves putting the food in a bowl, covering it with water, adding a neutralizer, letting it sit at room temperature, and then draining.
It takes a little forethought, but your body will certainly thank you! Here’s more info on this topic.
You can make this soup with various other vegetables if you’d like. Switching out the carrots for other root vegetables, or the kale for other leafy greens would be a fun way to use up whatever you have on hand!
Serves: Serves 8-10
8 hr, 15 Prep Time
1 hr, 15 Cook Time
9 hr, 30 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large leek, chopped
- 3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
- 1 bunch of kale, chopped into bite-size pieces
- 10 cups chicken stock (homemade preferred)
- 1/4 cup red wine (optional, you can substitute with chicken stock))
- 1 (28-ounce) jar crushed tomatoes
- 2 1/2 cups French lentils, soaked overnight, drained
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
- Dill, for garnishing
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium heat. Stir in leeks and carrots. Cover pot, turn heat to low and let vegetables sweat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, add the kale and let boil for 8 minutes (this helps reduce the goitrogens in the kale). Drain.
- Add the chicken stock, wine (if using), crushed tomatoes, and lentils to the carrot mixture. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for about 45 minutes or until lentils are soft. Using a ladle transfer about 4 cups of soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour pureed soup back into pot. Stir in cooked kale and lemon juice. Season soup with salt and pepper if needed. Serve soup with a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprig of dill.
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