Recipe and Photos by Blueridge Brinery
This is a rich and flavorful way to incorporate an abundance of nutritious foods, many of which can be sourced through CAFE. It features silky coconut milk, tender root vegetables, seasonal pumpkin and more in a hearty curry-spiked broth. Local sausage and creamy lentils add depth and protein, but you can omit the meat for an equally tasty vegetarian spin.
Ingredients
2 pounds squash or pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
1 pound pork sausage
2 to 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 to 3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup dried Lentils, rinsed (substitute split peas if desired)
1 large or 2-3 small/medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2-inch ginger, freshly grated
1-inch turmeric, freshly grated
Crushed red pepper to taste
A few tablespoons of Thai curry powder or paste to taste
Boil 8 cups water, add pumpkin (or squash) and simmer until very soft, about one hour. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, lentils, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric and crushed red pepper. Simmer until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Add curry powder or curry paste to taste, and chopped greens or green onions and sweet peppers if desired. Simmer to allow flavors to mingle. Use this time to brown and crumble the sausage.
After all vegetables are tender, add one can coconut milk to the soup. If you like it a little sweet, you can add some sugar or honey to taste. Finally, add in the browned sausage.
Serve garnished with kimchi.
