Creamy Lemony Lentil Cabbage Soup

Today is the Winter Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere and it's a cold (18F/-7C), snowy day here in Upstate NY. It's the perfect day for making soup! We have a new general store in town that carries locally-grown produce, and I picked up a beautiful small cabbage and huge bag of carrots. First thing I thought of was cabbage soup, and I decided to add lentils, warming spices, lemon and cashew cream for a light yet decadent-feeling soup. This is a warm and nourishing meal on its own, and would pair beautifully with some locally-baked, crusty bread.

Ingredients:

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

Several small carrots, diced (or 1-2 medium sized ones)

2 stalks celery, diced

1/2 small head cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 cup brown lentils (spread them over a paper towel or clean kitchen towel and discard any debris or shriveled lentils, then rinse and drain)

1/2 tsp minced garlic from a jar (or 1 clove garlic, minced)

6 cups vegetable broth

Handful of greens, chopped (like spinach, Swiss chard, kale, or your favorites)

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup cashews

1 cup water

Spices:

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Pinch of cumin seeds (optional)

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of ground ginger (optional)

1 green cardamom pod (optional) - remove after soup is cooked

1 clove (optional) - remove after soup is cooked

A pinch or two of ground black pepper

Directions:

Add olive oil to a soup pot over medium heat. Add spices and sauté till fragrant, about a minute.

Add onions, carrots, and celery and sauté a few minutes until the onions start to become transluscent.

Add cabbage, lentils and garlic and sauté another minute or two.

Add broth. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low (gentle simmer) for 35-40 minutes or until lentils are done.

Add greens and lemon juice.

Puree cashews and water in a blender and add to soup.

Adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve with some delicious, warm bread.

Feel free to adjust seasonings to your liking. These spices are very similar to my Kitchari (see my blog post on that here), but you can use any seasonings you prefer.