Photo by Sprouted Kitchen

I wrote an article this week for EcoSalon on 10 delicious vegetarian soups. In doing so I came across an absolutely beautiful and well written blog, The Sprouted Kitchen. Somehow the talent at this blog makes whole grains look sexy… I’m not kidding. In fact I’ve never found anyone else that has an affinity for taking photos of quinoa, so when I came across it, I knew I’d be an instant addict.

Fantastic food photography and delicious sounding recipes, like this one for Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl. Go check it out!

Here’s the soup recipe I chose for EcoSalon: Lentil Soup with Chipotle Yogurt. Can’t wait to get this cooking in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

2 Cups Lentils (French or Black Beluga)
1 Yellow Onion, Diced
1 Fennel Bulb, Diced
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Cup Brown Rice, Cooked (any whole grain will work)
6 Cups Organic, Low Sodium Vegetable Stock
1 tsp. Cumin
1 Large Bunch of Kale, Chard or Combo of Leafy Greens
Salt/ Pepper
1 Lemon

Chipotle Yogurt
1 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Chipotle Chile in Adobo, Chopped (no more than 2 tsp.)

Preparation:

1. Cook your rice or desired grain and set aside. Boil about four cups water, and boil the lentils for 20 minutes until cooked. Add water as needed. Drain.
2. In a large soup pot, saute the yellow onion and the fennel in the olive oil for about 8 minutes, or until just starting to turn light brown. Add the stock and cumin. Bring the heat back up to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the lentils and the brown rice and simmer about 10 minutes. While you are waiting, stem your greens and slice them into thin strips. Taste the soup for salt and pepper, add seasoning as desired.
4. Turn off the heat and add in the greens, stir. The greens will wilt in the hot soup, and avoid overcooking this way. Stir in the juice of half the lemon, add more to taste.
5. Mix the greek yogurt with the chipotle chile and stir. Serve the soup with the dollop of the chipotle yogurt. Warning, chipotles are pretty spicy, so start with a small amount of sauce and you can add if you like it hot. If too spicy, add more yogurt.