Monterey Winter Nights & A Soul-Warming Bowl of Red Lentil Curry Soup

I've always enjoyed food, but it wasn't until this past year that I started finding joy in cooking and baking. Before, I avoided the kitchen. After seeing generations of women in my family before me stuck in that room, I decided early on that I would not lean into that traditional gender role. I spent many years ordering take-out, dining out, and picking up food from the pre-cooked grocery store sections. My favorite dinner as a single person from the grocery store was a salad from the salad bar and a big slice of cake from the bakery section. Balance!

After I met my husband Kevin, we (he) started cooking a lot more and better. After all, restaurants are expensive in Monterey - and a lot of them cater to tourists. And they all close by 8 PM during the week! We eventually evolved past our Trader Joe's frozen bag dinners (shout-out to the Mandarin Orange Chicken!) and into creating home-cooked staples from recipes and a little creative intuition. Kevin would cook most of the meals, and in exchange, I was on clean-up duty. I eventually started helping out more based out of necessity and then more recently, much to my surprise, out of love and purpose. I credit local chef Charlie Cascio and his cookbook, Esalen Cooking for my change of heart.

In Esalen Cooking, Charlie talks about how the energy put into food (growing, harvesting, chopping, cooking, baking) becomes the energy you put into your body and your loved ones' bodies. I thought about the best meals I ever had - made from the women in my family, farm to table restaurants, Kevin's joyful kitchen experiments. As Kevin and I continued to evolve our diet to healthier, wholesome foods, this energetic exchange that Charlie talks about deeply resonated with me. And then poof - I decided to spend more time creating in the kitchen.

Since then, I've made dozens of sea salted chocolate chip cookies, seafood dishes, inventive arugula and kale salads, lunchtime chicken & pickle on brioche sandwiches, a few cakes, vegan cupcakes, and of course, what I'm here to share today: red lentil-sweet potato-kale-coconut curry soup.

This soup is so delicious, wholesome, and satisfying, especially during the rainy, cooler weather days this time of year. Served with a side of buttery naan, you will sleep like a baby at night. Recipe is below. Let me know what you think!

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Red Lentil-Sweet Potato-Kale-Coconut Curry Soup

Recipe PDF

This recipe is my revised version from the New York Times Cooking: Red Curry Lentils With Sweet Potatoes & Spinach Recipe (gift article) by Lidey Heuck that has a five-star rating with 17,000+ reviews. My version uses curry powder and kale instead of curry paste and spinach. The soup just happens to be vegan and gluten-free, but it is a crowd pleaser for omnivores, too. It’s hearty, nutritious, and perfect for lunch or dinner on a chilly day. We’ve served it as a post-hike Thanksgiving Day lunch (cooking the night before/reheating on the stovetop), which was a filling but light meal before a much more indulgent Thanksgiving Day dinner. I promise that your guests – no matter their dietary choices – will be happy with this soulful soup.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Time commitment:

30-min prep & clean-up | 60-min active cook time

Can prep and cook 24 hours in advance | Stores well in fridge up to 3 days

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil

1-pound sweet potatoes (about 2 medium sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 bunch of dinosaur kale, bottom stems removed, chopped in one-inch pieces

3 tablespoons curry powder

3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

1 serrano pepper, halved, seeds and ribs removed, then minced

1cup red lentils, rinsed

4 cups vegetable stock (Recommended: Better than Bouillion - Seasoned Vegetable base)

2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste

1 (13-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, shaken before opened

½ lime, juiced

Optional for serving:

Fresh cilantro leaves (on soup)

Toasted unsweetened coconut flakes (on soup)

Warm, buttery naan for dipping into soup (on the side)

Kitchen Supplies:

1 large cutting board

1 chef’s knife

1 dry measuring cup

1 liquid measuring cup

1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon

Three medium bowls (for sweet potatoes, onions, kale)

One small bowl (for garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, curry, and water mix)

Citrus juicer

1 Small soup pot (for BTB paste)

1 Sauté pan

1 Large soup pot

Recommended: Garlic press

Some tips before you start: 

• Since this soup takes some time to make (and tastes even better the next day), it’s a great option to make one day in advance and store in the fridge, and then warm up again on the stovetop. Just be sure to reheat “low and slow” and stir often to avoid burning the soup bottom.

• I typically skip the optional cilantro and coconut shavings, but the warm, buttery naan is a must.

Recipe Instructions:

Step 1

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started a recipe only to realize I’m missing an ingredient or a kitchen tool, so while Step 1 is a no-brainer for some of you, for the rest of us: Place every ingredient needed out on the kitchen counter, take out your kitchen supplies, and read the recipe in completion before beginning. Also, turn on some feel-good music.

Step 2

Chop sweet potatoes into ¾-inch cubes. Uniformity helps with even cooking. Set aside in medium bowl.

Finely chop the yellow onion. Set aside in medium bowl.

Chop the dinosaur kale into one-inch size pieces. Set aside in medium bowl.

Prepare the garlic (via garlic press), ginger (peeled and finely chopped), and serrano pepper (minced, use gloves to avoid burning fingers!). Add all three to a small bowl. Then add curry powder and (3) three tablespoons of water to the same small bowl. No need to mix. Set aside the small bowl.

Step 3

In a large pan, heat two (2) tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Once hot, add the sweet potatoes and set medium bowl aside for reuse. Cook sweet potatoes uncovered, stirring occasionally until browned – 5-7 minutes.

Optional: Now’s the time to prepare the stock if you’re using Better Than Bouillion (BTB). Add water and BTB paste to a small soup pot. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until the paste is mixed in the water – 5-6 minutes.

Step 4

Once sweet potatoes are browned, remove from the pan, and set aside to rest in their medium size bowl.

Add one (1) tablespoon olive oil to the same pan. Add kale. Sauté the kale on medium high heat uncovered and stir frequently for 4-5 minutes. Add lid and cook covered for additional 2-3 minutes until tender but still vibrant green. Turn off heat and set kale in pan aside.

Step 5

Once the kale is sautéing, in a separate large soup pot, add one (1) tablespoon of olive oil. Once the pot and oil are hot, add the onion. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until translucent – 4-6 minutes.

Step 6

Add the small bowl of garlic, ginger, serrano pepper, curry powder, and water to the large soup pot with the onion. Cook until fragrant – 1 minute.

Step 7

Add lentils, vegetable stock, browned sweet potatoes, and salt to the large soup pot. (Leave kale out for now.) Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally – 20-25 minutes. While the soup simmers, this is good time to do early clean-up. 

Step 8

Add coconut milk and simmer, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes. Add kale in the last 5 minutes of cook time.

Step 9

Turn off the heat and stir in lime juice.

Step 10

Enjoy! And don’t forget the warm, buttery naan on the side.

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Warmly,

Ashley