Vegan Sweet Potato Soup with Kale Pesto

Did you know the contents of your pantry and refrigerator can help boost your immune system? This vegan recipe has fiber, flavonoids, beta-carotene, and the anti-inflammatory compounds in ginger, turmeric, and cayenne, along with omega-3 in the walnuts, and vitamin C in the lemon juice. All this, plus kale, one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet! I promise, though, with all the great flavors in the pesto, you will barely know it's kale. Store any extra pesto in the refrigerator, sealed, for up to 1 week.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 10 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Calories: 386 Calories

Ingredients

• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ cup chopped celery
• ⅔ cup chopped onion
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced, or more to taste
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste
• 2 cups vegetable broth, or more to taste
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup kale, stemmed and chopped
• ½ cup English walnuts, coarsely chopped

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until the vegetables soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Mix in broth, turmeric, ginger, cayenne, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

Step 2

Pour carefully into a high-speed blender, cover with a lid, and puree on high speed for 1 minute. Add mashed sweet potato and coconut milk; puree until soup has a creamy consistency, about 4 minutes. Add more broth or water if soup is too thick. Cover and keep warm.

Step 3

Combine kale, walnuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Process or blend at high speed into a paste, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed, about 3 minutes. Pour in olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition. Add more oil or lemon juice if pesto seems too thick.

Step 4

Ladle the warm soup into bowls and spoon some pesto on top of each serving.