Spiced carrot and kale soup

I love soup, simple as that. It’s a great opportunity to get creative with seasonal ingredients.

This soup only has a few components, but by roasting the carrots, sautéing the kale, and macerating the apples, you make them all really shine.

Tip: Toast your spices! Something the home cook doesn’t always do, while chefs do it all the time – it’s not that time consuming and makes a huge difference in bringing out the dried spice flavors.

Spiced carrot and kale soup

You’ll need:

• 1/2 honey crisp apple (secret weapon) with a little cinnamon, cloves, a little sugar (much like the filling of the apple almond bread)
• 1 bunch curly kale (about 15 large leaves)
• 5 carrots
• 2 pints vegetable stock
• 1/3 t mustard seeds
• 1/3 t fenugreek
• 1/4 t chili flakes
• 1/4 t fennel seeds
• 1/4 t turmeric
• salt, pepper
• olive oil

1. Chop and peel the apple, mix with spices and sugar, and let macerate for as long as you can.

2. Preheat oven to 420F. Chop and peel the carrots and layer them on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and fragrant, about 45 minutes.

3. In the meantime, heat up the stock in a large pot. In a large, deep pan, sauté the kale with a few teaspoons of olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and a few ladles of the heated stock, which you should add a bit at a time.

4. Toast the spices in a dry pan over low heat until fragrant. Combine the carrots, kale, apples, and spices, and stock in a blender and pulse until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add a little bit more chili flakes or salt and pepper, as necessary. Serve topped with some micro greens or a bit of greek yogurt.