Hearty Harvest Soup

I know it's getting chilly when I've made the first soup of the season. I used to really dislike soup. I only had it when my mom made me as a child, when I was sick or something. That was probably because it was the Knorr instant MSG-in-a-box kinda soup.

I love making soup now. It's the perfect way to clean out the vegetable crisper to make an easy one pot dish that can easily be hearty enough for a meal. Just add some grains (or pseudograins), some beans and peas, and you've got yourself a protein and fibre rich medley of deliciousness to go with your nutrient-packed veggie base.

I've had a huge bag of spelt berries sitting in my pantry for way too long... I tried making manna bread with them once, and it went moldy. I was just too sad to use them since then. (Just kidding, I just forgot about them and wasn't sure what to use them in.)

I also had a very attractive sweet potato squash from the farmer's market sitting in my pantry. Going with the colour scheme, I also had yellow split peas, which don't take very long to cook and make a perfect addition to a soup.

Here it is - a delicious "fall themed", nutrient-rich soup!

Ingredients:

-1/2 tbsp coconut oil
-1/3 cup each carrots, celery and onion, finely chopped
-1 tsp cumin
-2 tsp garam masala
-1/4 tsp sea salt (optional, add more or less, to taste)
-2 tbsp low sodium vegetable broth powder (I buy mine in bulk. You may also use 2 vegetable broth cubes)
-About 2 1/3 cups chopped and peeled squash, sweet potato or pumpkin
-1 cup whole spelt kernels/berries
-1 cup dry yellow split peas

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, heat coconut oil on medium-high heat. Add celery, carrots and onion and sautee for at least 5 minutes.

2. Add 6 cups of water, along with seasonings and broth powder (you may just use 6 cups of already made broth, if that's what you have.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

3. Add squash cubes, spelt, and split peas. Simmer on low heat, covered but with room for steam to escape, for 35 minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Take about half of the soup and puree it in a blender or food processor. You will want to wait at least a few minutes before adding it to the blender, just to make super sure your blender won't crack (it hasn't happened to me with a blender, but it has with a mason jar... and it sucks). After you're pureed half the soup completely, add it back into the rest of the soup in the pot. Stir and mix well. This gives your soup a nice texture. How much of the soup you puree is up to you!

You may substitute the spelt if you have another grain on hand or want to make a gluten-free soup, and just slightly adjust the cooking time.

Enjoy! I like mine with some Sriracha on top and some warm pita on the side.




Tijana