The holidays are almost here, but I’ve been eating like it’s Thanksgiving for the past few weeks. Food blogger problems! I’m seeking balance in the meals in between recipe testing by filling my belly with my favorite veggie-packed meals. Case in point: This sweet potato, kale, chickpea and farro soup, which is both impossible to describe using fewer words. I shared this recipe five years ago, and it’s still one of my favorites.
I’m counting down the minutes until I can heat up a big bowlful of this soup for lunch. It’s spicy, filling, satisfying, and overflowing with so-called power foods and whole grain goodness. The Thai red curry paste might seem like an unlikely pairing for sweet potatoes, kale and farro, but somehow it just works. I love this soup because each main ingredient contributes flavor while retaining its texture. The farro stays nice and chewy, the chickpeas don’t turn to mush like lentils might, the sweet potatoes retain their delicate bite, and the kale never wilts into nothingness like spinach tends to do.
While remaking the soup so I could take photos of it, I adjusted the ingredients and cooking method a bit. I used a fresh red bell pepper instead of chopping up roasted bell pepper, and found that the soup didn’t need nearly as long on the stove as the recipe originally suggested. If you’re craving more hearty soups to get you through the holidays, check out my soup archives. Don’t miss the eight soup recipes in my cookbook, Love Real Food. Those soups are downright magical, if I can say so myself.
*Thai red curry paste: Look for it in the Asian/international section of the grocery store. I like Thai Kitchen brand, which is vegan (some brands contain shrimp). You can substitute 1 tablespoon curry powder for the curry paste, for a totally different flavor. **Whole grain notes: I prefer using farro as the whole grain because it requires less cooking time than wheat berries, spelt berries or kamut, so it can be cooked along with the soup. The soup is great with those other whole grains, but you’ll want to start cooking those in a separate pot well before the farro; just add the whole grains along with the chickpeas so no ingredients are overcooked or lose their texture. Here’s the original photo from 2012.
