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Soups are a great way to get lots of nutrients in an easy and flavorful package. Making these three soups from the new cookbook Clean Soups is a great way to prepare healing meals ahead of time to have throughout the week.
African Sweet Potato + Peanut Soup
At first glance the main ingredients in this recipe may seem like a totally random (and somewhat odd) combo, but it's actually a classic Ethiopian soup. It will have your taste buds rockin' and rollin' thanks to berbere, an Ethiopian spice mix.
Traditional berbere has about 13(!) spices; I shortened that down to a more manageable number of spices, but you'll still get that spicy-sweet-hot tension.
The sweet potato here is like the grand marshal of the parade, pulling all those spices and veggies into cohesion to provide a sensational experience.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- Sea salt
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
- 6 cups Magic Mineral Broth (see recipe below)
- 2 pounds garnet yams (sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more if needed
- 1 small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish
- ½ cup chopped peanuts, for garnish
Preparation
1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the bell pepper, garlic, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, paprika, and cayenne and sauté for 1 minute more. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice and the peanut butter. Pour in ½ cup of the broth to deglaze the pot, stirring to loosen any bits stuck to the bottom, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
2. Stir in the sweet potatoes, ½ teaspoon sea salt, and the remaining 5½ cups of broth. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
3. Ladle 3 cups of the soup into a blender and process for 1 minute, or until velvety smooth. Stir the blended mixture back into the soup and cook over low heat just until heated through. Stir in the lime juice. Taste; you may want to add a generous pinch of salt or a bit more lime juice. Serve garnished with the cilantro and peanuts, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Power Greens Soup
If a soup could do push-ups, this one would. Nearly nuclear in terms of energy, there's hardly a vitamin or mineral out there that can't be found among the kale, chard, leek, fennel, and garlic.
The challenge here was making a green soup that tasted delicious. I think this one passes with flying colors.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- Sea salt
- 1 large leek, white parts only, rinsed and chopped
- 1 Yukon gold or Yellow Finn potato, peeled and diced small
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups Magic Mineral Broth (see recipe below)
- 1 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- 1 bunch dinosaur kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup loosely packed chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Preparation
1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt and sauté until the onion is golden, about 10 minutes. Add the leek and potato and sauté for 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for another 30 seconds.
2. Pour in ½ cup of the broth, stirring to loosen any bits stuck to the pot, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the chard, kale, and another ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir well to combine so the greens will wilt. Then add the remaining 5½ cups of broth and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the greens are just tender.
3. In a blender, puree the soup in batches until very smooth, each time adding the cooking liquid first and then the greens. Blend the parsley into the last batch. Pour the soup back into the pot, heat gently over medium-low heat, and stir in the lemon zest and juice. Taste; you may want to add a pinch more salt. Serve garnished with a drizzle of olive oil or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Moroccan Carrot Soup
Saffron is one of my favorite spices to cook with. Yes, it can be a bit costly, but you really need very little saffron to get a huge bang for your buck. Here it gives a luscious, exotic taste to the carrots, which are naturally sweet.
Saffron is also a visual delight; in this soup the saffron looks like monks' robes tossed against a vibrant orange background. Consider this dish a treat for all your senses.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- Sea salt
- 3 pounds carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon saffron threads
- 6 cups Magic Mineral Broth (see recipe below), plus more if needed
- 2½ teaspoons Meyer lemon zest (See Cook's Note)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice, plus more if needed (See Cook's Note)
- ¼ teaspoon dark maple syrup, plus more if needed
- Chermoula, optional (see below)
Preparation
1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, red pepper flakes, saffron, and ¼ teaspoon salt and sauté until well-combined. Pour in ½ cup of the broth and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the remaining 5½ cups of broth and another ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until the carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Put the lemon zest in a blender and puree the soup in batches until very smooth, each time adding the cooking liquid first and then the carrot mixture. If need be, add additional broth to reach the desired thickness. Return the soup to the pot over low heat, stir in the lemon juice, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt, and gently reheat. Taste; you may want to add another squeeze of lemon, a pinch or two of salt, or a drizzle of maple syrup. Serve with chermoula or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cook's Note: Meyer lemons are milder and sweeter than most store-bought lemons. If you don't have Meyer lemons, use 2 teaspoons of lemon juice combined with 2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed tangerine or orange juice. As for the zest, regular lemon zest is an acceptable substitute.
Chermoula
Makes 1¼ cups
Normally, Moroccan chermoulas are used as a marinade with meat or fish. But a little tinkering yields an extraordinary drizzle that works mighty fine on top of a soup. Mint, parsley, cumin, paprika, olive oil, and lemon juice all combine to create a chermoula with some serious zing!
Ingredients
- 1 cup tightly packed chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup tightly packed fresh cilantro or basil leaves
- 6 fresh mint leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Preparation
Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until well-blended. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Magic Mineral Broth
This is my signature savory broth. Its creation was that wonderful moment when everything came together in the kitchen to create something truly healing. (I must have been channeling someone's grandmother!)
Literally thousands of people have spoken with me about the positive impact this broth has had on their lives. You'll be amazed at how revitalizing it is. With carrots, onions, leek, celery, potatoes, and more, it's a veritable veggie-palooza and can be used as a base for nearly all the soups in this book. In a bowl or sipped as a tea, it's the perfect cleansing broth.
Makes about 6 quarts
Ingredients
- 6 unpeeled carrots, cut into thirds
- 2 unpeeled yellow onions, quartered
- 1 leek, white and green parts, cut into thirds
- 1 bunch celery, including the heart, cut into thirds
- 4 unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
- 2 unpeeled Japanese or regular sweet potatoes, quartered
- 1 unpeeled garnet yam (sweet potato), quartered
- 5 unpeeled cloves garlic, halved
- ½ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 (8-inch) strip kombu
- 12 black peppercorns
- 4 whole allspice or juniper berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 quarts cold, filtered water, plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more if needed
Preparation
1. Rinse all of the vegetables well, including the kombu. In a 12-quart or larger stockpot, combine the carrots, onions, leek, celery, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, yam, garlic, parsley, kombu, peppercorns, allspice berries, and bay leaves. Add the water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for at least 2 hours, or until the full richness of the vegetables can be tasted. As the broth simmers, some of the water will evaporate; add more if the vegetables begin to peek out.
2. Strain the broth through a large, coarse-mesh sieve (use a heat-resistant container underneath), and discard the solids. Stir in the salt, adding more if desired. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
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