Sweet Potato and Swiss Chard Soup with Curried Coconut Milk

Adapted from: Stitch and Boots, serves 6-8
Date made: 3/20/2012

1 medium onion, diced
1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped in 1-in pieces*
1 large bunch of kale, stems separated from leaves, each cut into 1-in pieces*
1 quart of water
1 pint of coconut milk
2 Tbsp canola oil
1″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. whole cumin seeds, ground or crushed
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds, ground or crushed
1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
Salt, to taste
Cooked white rice, optional

In a soup pot on medium heat, saute the onions in the olive oil until they sweat, about 5-10 minutes.  Add Swiss chard stems, garlic, and ginger.
Cook for a couple of minutes with the onions, stirring frequently, then add the water to the pot and turn the heat up until it comes to a boil.
Lower heat to medium-low, add the sweet potatoes, coriander, cumin, pepper, and turmeric, and cover the pot.
Simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.  Then add Swiss chard leaves, stir well and cover.
Cook until the kale is well-cooked, about five minutes.  Serve with white rice.

Probably would flip-flop the quantities of water vs. coconut milk next time, but otherwise a pretty tasty and filling dish.

African-style Stewed Kale

Adapted from: Bon Appetit, serves 2
Date made: 3/19/2012


1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 green onions, diced*
1 Tbsp. whole cumin seeds, crushed or ground
1 Tbsp. whole coriander seeds, crushed or ground
1 large tomato, diced*
1 bunch of kale, stems removed and chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp. peanut butter
1 c. water
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooked white rice

Heat unsalted butter in a large saute pan. Add onion and garlic powder and saute until soft. Stir in cumin and coriander, then tomatoes, kale, and water.

Cover and cook until kale is just tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in peanut butter, mix well, and saute for another 5-10 minutes.
Serve over white rice.

"Caldo Verde"

Adapted from John Villa/Irene Sax, serves 4 to 6
Date made 3/3/2012

1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large turnips, peeled and chopped
1/2 lb kale, julienned
1 c. vegetable broth
water
salt and pepper, to taste

In medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until they are tender and golden brown.  Add garlic, and cook for a 2 minutes more.
Add turnips and vegetable broth and enough water to cover the vegetables.  Bring the liquid to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer.
Cover and cook until the turnips are tender, about 15 minutes.
When the soup is cool enough to handle, puree it in a food processor or blender, and return to the pot.  Bring the soup back to a boil and add the kale.
Simmer for a few minutes until the kale is tender.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.


This recipe was suggested for this past week's Hollygrove box, and I wanted to save the potatoes for a another dish, so I figured I'd replace them with turnips.  It's still a root vegetable, it has a similar texture as the potato, and it's a low-carb alternative for anyone who is concerned about any of that.  Plus, it was included in this week's box, as well.  I excluded the chorizo since I'm going veg for Lent this year, hence the quotation marks.  However, for a vegetarian alternative, I think it was a pretty tasty soup!

Turnips with Swiss Chard

Adapted from cdkitchen, serves 2-4
Date made: 3/15/2011

3 turnips, halved and sliced*
1 bunch swiss chard, roughly chopped*
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
lemon zest of one lemon
juice of half of a lemon
salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and saute garlic until it starts to brown.  Remove garlic and set aside.
Add turnips and saute until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes.
Raise heat to medium-high and add garlic, swiss chard, and lemon zest and saute for 2 minutes.
Turn the heat off and cover skillet.  Allow to steam for about 5 minutes.
Season with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.


So it's been about a month since I posted my last recipe.  It's been busy, starting the new job with AmeriCorps and everything.  February/early March was a really bad month for cooking with PSO and then Mardi Gras I ate out a lot more than I should have.  Now that the new job is starting to set in and my bank account balance is starting to decline, I'm going to get better at cooking in and trying new recipes!

On Saturday, I did make a variation of Collard Greens and Turnips using kale and beet greens instead.  Jason said it turned out pretty tasty, and I thought it was a good use of the produce, so I think I'm going to continue to revert to this recipe for an easy meal when I'm short on time and don't feel like cooking.