illustration by eva hjeltel at peppercookies.com

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The Super Soup



As the weather starts to go through sporadic bouts of hot and cold, the flu starts to attack and everyone seems to be getting sick.  Instead of reaching of a chemically packed supplement like Emergen-c (who's first ingredient is sugar and second is a preservative), boost your immunity with this soup the natural way.

Mushrooms are nature's natural immunity booster. Research has shown that Shiitake mushrooms lower cholesterol and also appear to be effective against some of the more serious viruses we face today. This soup is yummy, easy to make and keeps for a few days in the fridge.


Serves 4 to 6

Need:
1 small yellow onion, chopped 
4 cloves garlic, sliced 
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
1 teaspoon ground turmeric 
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 
4 cups low-sodium mushroom, vegetable or chicken broth (I used chicken broth)
1 1/2 cups fresh kale 
1 cup cubed butternut squash (or sweet potatoes will work too)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) (I added quite a bit to jumpstart the metabolism) 
6 thin slices astragalus root (optional) (I left this out because my store didn't sell it)
Juice of 1 fresh lemon 
15 oz cooked chickpeas (rinsed and drained if you use canned)
1 teaspoon mellow white miso


Do:
In a sauce pot over medium-high heat, saute onion and garlic in oil 3 minutes. Add turmeric and mushrooms. Saute 2 minutes. Add broth, squash, ginger, cayenne and astragalus. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes. Add kale and chickpeas and continue to simmer for a few more minutes until kale turns bright green. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, add lemon juice and miso (adding miso when still very hot will diminish its probiotic benefits). Cover and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from WholeFoods.com. Images via WholeFoods.com and Pinterest. 

2 comments:

  1. I'm going to make this for dinner tonight. Yummm

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks great, Jess. Was looking for a comforting soup recipe!

    ReplyDelete