Harvest Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or butter
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 1 medium sweet potato (peeled and cut into small cubes)
• half of a medium butternut squash (peeled and cut into small cubes)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (removed from stem)
• 1 32 oz carton of vegetable stock
• 3 large portabella mushrooms (roughly chopped)
• 1 15 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp of smoked sea salt
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2-1 tsp chipotle pepper
• 1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 fresh bay leaves
• Hot sauce (such as Franks Red Hot)
• 1 bunch of kale (washed and chopped, tough stems removed)
• Cornstarch slurry (optional) (2 tbsp each or cornstarch and water combined into a thin paste)
• 1 large carrot (sliced into discs)

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or butter in a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add the onion, sweet potato, squash and carrot to the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion begins to soften. Add garlic and thyme and cook until garlic is fragrant, about another minute. Add vegetable stock to the pot and stir to break up any bits stuck to the bottom.

2. 2

   Add chopped portabellas, along with the diced tomatoes, to the pot and stir to incorporate all ingredients. Season your soup with smoked sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, dried basil, dried oregano, chipotle pepper and cayenne pepper. Add bay leaves and give the soup a good stir.

3. 3

   Reduce heat to medium and cover the pot. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. While soup is simmering, wash and chop your kale, removing any tough stems.

4. 4

   After 10 minutes, check the tenderness of the sweet potatoes and squash and add more cooking time if needed. Also add salt and pepper to taste at this point along with a couple dashes of hot sauce, like Franks (optional). Once sweet potato and squash are tender, add in the kale and stir to combine. Cook until kale is wilted. If you like your soup to be a little tighter, add in the cornstarch slurry at this time and stir until soup thickens.

5. 5

   Remove bay leaves and serve soup immediately with crusty bread if desired.