Spicy Kale, Sweet Potato & Black Bean Soup
This soup is very similar to an Italian ribollita, but with with a Mexican-ish twist. I highly recommend black beans, although you can use any bean you like. I was unsure to start with whether to call this a soup or a stew, as its quite a chunky soup and could easily be served over rice. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days and freezes well, so great for batch cooking.
Ayurvedic Notes:
This soup has been given an ayurvedic touch, with the addition of a good amount of CCF Spice Mix
This is a grounding, warming dish ideal for Autumn/Winter and balancing excess Vata dosha.
It also contains a good amount of dark leafy greens, making this a great meal for those with excess Kapha dosha. To make this more Kapha-friendly, you could consider replacing the coconut milk with some vegetable stock and definitely leave out the oil.
If you are trying to balance excess Pitta dosha then ditch the chilli. The coconut milk will be cooling and calming for your hot constitution.
4 servings
Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
1.5 tablespoon CCF Spice Mix (or 1 teaspoon each ground cumin, corriander seed and fennel)
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
500g sweet potato, chopped into 1cm cubes (you can substitute for white potato or butternut squash)
1 Litre boiled water
1 400ml tin coconut milk
2 tins of black bean, drained (or substitute for your favourite bean)
1 large 200g bunch of Cavolo Nero or any kale, finely shredded
Sea salt to taste
Method
Add the finely chopped onion to a large soup pot with a splash of water a good pinch of salt and turn on the heat to low/medium until the onions start to slowly cook in the water. Add a lid to the pan to allow the onion to steam saute in the water.
Once the onion becomes translucent add the oil (this is optional if you want to keep the soup oil-free), the CCF Spice Mix and the chilli powder and saute for a couple of minutes allowing the water to evaporate a little.
Next add the tomato and another pinch of salt and cook out the spiced onion mix for another minute or two.
Add the chopped sweet potato and mix for a minute with the spices, before adding the water and coconut milk. Allow the pan to come to a simmer and then taste the stock for seasoning. Add more salt or a little more chilli powder if needed.
Next add the black beans and leave the soup to simmer for around 10mins with the lid on, or until the sweet potatoes are almost cooked.
Once the sweet potato is almost cooked, you can add the cavolo nero to the soup and put the lid back on and cook for a further 5-10minutes until the greens are cooked to your satisfaction.
Check for seasoning and serve in a large bowl.