This soup is soooo perfect for these chilly gray days. Warming, rich and full of inflammation reducing deliciousness, your body will thank you. Plus it tastes so rich and creamy that your brain will think it’s a treat. It comes together in just 20 minutes so it’s great for a weekday meal or you can prep ahead and use your slow-cooker to have it ready for you at the day’s end.

Grain and gluten free, dairy free, vegan option.

RECIPE:

1 Large, enameled cast iron pot with a lid. Ditch the Teflon, my friends.

4-5 cups chopped, your choice mushrooms, large cut. I used a mixture of white button and portobello

1 large onion, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed

6 cups stock: chicken or vegetable (vegan option)

1 can full fat coconut milk or coconut cream. Cream will, obviously, end up with a richer taste and texture. It’s my preference but use whatever you’d like. Yes, it has to be the canned coconut milk. The carton variety is too liquid and has additional additives that you don’t want in this recipe. Like sugar.

1 tablespoon tapioca flour or cassava flour 

2tsp dried thyme or 5-6 stalks fresh

2 bay leaves

2tsp salt, may need more or less depending on how salty your stock is. Taste your food as you go!

1/2tsp black pepper

Olive oil 

2 cups kale (or spinach if you prefer)

Parmesan cheese or Vegan Parm, optional

Stove Top: sauté onion in olive oil (1-2 Tbsp) until onions are translucent. Add in garlic, mushrooms and carrots, stir and cook until garlic is fragrant. (You know, so you can really smell the garlic). Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in cassava flour and stir to veggies to coat. Add stock, thyme and bay leaves and coconut milk. Do not add in kale yet! Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook 15-20 minutes until carrots have softened slightly. Not mush. We don’t want mushy carrots. The soup will thicken slightly. Remove thyme stems (if using fresh) and bay leaves. Remove from heat and add in kale. It will wilt into the soup very quickly. Cover with lid and let sit for 5 minutes while the kale softens. Ladle into cozy mugs and top with peels of Parmesan cheese or vegan Parmesan if preferred. 

Slow-cooker version: place mushrooms, carrots, garlic & onion in cooker. Whisk stock with flour and coconut milk, pour over veggies. Add thyme and bay leaves, season with salt and pepper. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cool on low for 8 hours. Remove thyme stems (if using fresh) and bay leaves. Stir in kale 5 minutes before serving and let wilt until you’re ready. Serve with parm of your choice. 

My preference, being on a Paleo diet, is to use chicken stock I make from scratch. I can control the salt levels and ensure no additives. But, also having previously been a vegan for a number of years, vegetable stock works very well in this recipe too. Don’t have homemade stock on hand? Pick up some store versions but read the labels. Make sure there’s no gluten (I have found SO MANY stocks and broths that have wheat derivatives in them!), no crazy additives, no preservatives and try to choose organic. Don’t worry, a stock post is in the works… it’s so easy, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it before. Until then,