my top 5 winter soup recipes

It is soup and stew season! Throwing together a hearty soup or stew is a simple and seamless way to provide yourself with a nourishing and filling meal. It is also a great way to meal prep and reap the benefits of your cooking efforts for a few meals throughout the week. Most soups freeze well and can be a great asset to your freezer for those days where cooking is the last thing you can fathom doing. Here are my top 5 winter soups.

curry ginger carrot soup 

Not only is this soup super simple to make, it is loaded with immunity boosters from ginger, turmeric, and the spices in curry powder. Carrots contain anti-oxidant rich Vitamin A, which helps fend off free radicals and promotes eye health. They also contain biotin, which helps support supple and glowy skin.

4 servings

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• Pinch salt and black pepper
• 8 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• Cilantro, sesame seeds, and lime juice for garnish

1. In a large pot, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent and golden. Add the garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, curry powder, turmeric, and salt and pepper and cook for 2 minutes more, making sure the spices coat the aromatics.
2. Add the carrots and the stock, bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until carrots are fork tender. Turn off heat and let cool slightly.
3. In batches, blend the soup in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy. Transfer back to the pot, taste, and adjust seasoning, if needed.
4. Serve in bowls topped with sesame seeds, cilantro, lime juice, and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Turmeric and Ginger Chicken Soup aka Not Your Mama's J-Pen

Serves 6-8

Ingredients 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 lbs chicken, combination of skinless boneless breasts and thighs, organic and sustainably raised meat preferred 
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 white onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and minced
• 4-6 large carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 stalks celery, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 small red chili pepper, seeds removed, minced
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock 
• 1 cup dill, chopped
• 2 limes, quartered 
• 1/2 lb baby kale or baby spinach
• Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

1. Clean, pat dry, and salt and pepper the chicken. In a large pot over medium heat, warm 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken in batches and brown each side, approximately 5-8 minutes a side. Add more oil as needed between each batch. Chicken will not be cooked through. Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving the brown bits.
2. Add another 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Add the turmeric and oregano and stir, scrapping up the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Once the spices are toasted, about 1 minute, stir in the onion, garlic, ginger, carrots, celery, and chili pepper. Coat vegetables with spice mixture and sauté until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Pour in vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and slowly add the chicken back to the pot. Partially over pot and simmer for at least an 1 hour and 1/2. When the soup is nearly done, shred any pieces of chicken that may have not fallen apart naturally. 
3. To serve, add a handful of kale or spinach to each bowl. Spoon soup over greens to wilt. Finish each bowl with a squirt of lime and a generous sprinkling of dill. 

* I often like to add 2 peeled and chopped parsnips and one small peeled and chopped turnip to add more root veggies to the mix. If you do so, add them in at the same time you add the carrots. 

red lentil soup with arugula and lemon

recipe adapted from Amy Chaplin's book At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen

serves 4

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, mined
• 2 tablespoons of ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric 
• 2 cups red lentils, washed and drained
• 6 cups filtered water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups torn arugula leaves, baby spinach, or kale
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup cooked quinoa or brown rice (optional)

1. In a dutch oven, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic turmeric, black pepper and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. 
2. Add the lentils and water, and bring to a boil. Cover soup and cook at a simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until lentils are creamy and most of the water is dissolved. Stir every 10 minutes to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom of the pot. 
3. Add salt, uncover pot, and cook for an additional 5 minutes or until lentils are completely dissolved. 
4. Right before serving, add the greens, cook until just wilted, and serve from fresh lemon juice and grains if using. 

miso mushroom soba noodle soup

serves 2

ingredients

• 1 piece of dried kombu (Kombu is a type of seaweed that can be found in health food stores or Asian markets)
• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons white miso
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 cup sliced cremini mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 baby bok choy, leaves separated, stalks thinly sliced
• 6 oz brown rice or buckwheat soba, cooked *
• 1 lime
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablesp0on cilantro, chopped
• red chili flakes

method

1. To make the broth, also known as dashi, warm the water and the kombu over medium heat. Let the broth simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove kombu. Avoid bringing the broth to a boil. 
2. Transfer 1/2 cup of the dashi to a bowl and whisk together with the miso until smooth. Stir the miso back into the broth and keep the soup on a very low heat. Boiling will denature the beneficial qualities of the miso. 
3. Warm olive or coconut oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add ginger, mushrooms, and sesame oil, and cook until mushrooms are just tender, but still firm to the bite - about two minutes. 
4. While the mushrooms are sautéing, add the bok choy to the miso broth and let simmer for three minutes or until barely wilted.
5. In a bowl, arrange the soba noodles, ladle broth and bok choy over noodles, and top with mushrooms, scallions, cilantro, chili flakes, and a good squeeze of fresh lime juice. 

*I like to use a soba that is a blend of buckwheat and brown rice or buckwheat and sweet potato. My "go to" brand is King Soba. Be sure to rinse the soba twice in cold water immediately after cooking in order to arrest the cooking process and to avoid clumpy noodles. Despite its misleading name, buckwheat is wheat and gluten-free and contains iron, magnesium, and fiber. 

curried coconut chickpea and cauliflower stew

serves 6

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 white onion, diced
• 1 small russet potato, diced 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece of ginger, minced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 14 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes 
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Sea salt
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Handful of cilantro for garnish (optional) 
• 2 cups cooked brown rice (optional) 

1. In a Dutch oven, melt coconut oil over medium heat. Add the curry powder, turmeric, chili powder, nutmeg, black pepper, and cinnamon and toast the spices for 30 seconds.
2. Add the onion, pinch of salt, coat with spice mixture, and sauté until translucent. Add potatoes and sauté for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Toss in green bell pepper and cook for another 2 minutes until slightly softened.
3. Pour in the tomatoes and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add the vegetable broth, cauliflower, and chickpeas. Stir to combine. Lower heat to medium-low, cover pot, and cook for 30-45 minutes or until the potatoes and cauliflower are fork tender.
4.  Using an immersion blender or blender, puree half of the stew. Stir in coconut milk and spinach. Season with salt and serve with torn cilantro leaves and brown rice.