Sweet Potato Soup with Kale Pesto (Vegan)

Ingredients

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

Step 1

Lightly heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until it’s shimmering. Toss in the chopped celery and onion, and cook them, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft and fragrant—about 3 to 4 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook it for another minute or so until you can really smell it. Pour in the broth along with the turmeric, ginger, cayenne, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bring everything up to a boil.

Step 2

Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender and puree on high for about a minute until smooth. Add the mashed sweet potato and coconut milk, then blend again for a few minutes until the soup is nice and creamy. If it feels too thick, just add a bit more broth or water to loosen it up. Keep the soup covered and warm.

Step 3

For the kale pesto, throw the kale, walnuts, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper into a food processor or blender. Blend it all together until it forms a thick paste, stopping every now and then to scrape down the sides so everything gets mixed well. Gradually add the olive oil, a tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition. If the pesto looks too dense, a little extra oil or lemon juice will help smooth it out.

Step 4

When you’re ready to eat, ladle the warm soup into bowls and top each serving with a generous spoonful of the kale pesto. Enjoy!