A filling stew-like soup made with lentils, sweet potatoes, carrots, kale, and harissa. This recipe has instructions for both turkey and a vegetarian/vegan option.
1lbground turkeycombo of breast & thigh meat, preferably
1tspor 2 garlic cloves minced garlic
1extra-largeor 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ inch chunks
1cupgreen lentilsrinsed
1quartlow sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 ¼tspsea salt
½tspfreshly cracked pepper
2dried bay leaves
3cupsroughly chopped kale-- curly or lacinato
Lemon Harissa Drizzle
3tspharissa paste
⅓cupolive oil
zest of ½ lemon
juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute onions and carrots for 3-4 minutes stirring frequently. Add in turkey, and saute for another 4-5 minutes, or until crumbled & no longer pink.
Add garlic to the pot and cook for the next minute, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pot (to make sure no garlic is sticking to it).
Add sweet potatoes, lentils, broth, salt, pepper & bay leaves to the pot and bring to a boil. Then lower to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
While the soup is cooking: combine all drizzle ingredients (harissa through lemon juice) in a small bowl or covered jar and stir/shake until well combined. Set aside.
After the soup has cooked 25 minutes, stir in the kale until incorporated. Cover the pot and simmer for another 3-5 minutes, or until kale is a darker and more vivid green color.
Remove the bay leaves from the soup. Scoop stew into bowls and drizzle 1- 1.5 heaping tablespoons of the harissa drizzle over each bowl. Garnish with any extra black pepper. Serve hot.
Notes
If you don’t have low-sodium chicken broth and need to use full sodium, omit the salt when simmering and just season to taste before serving.
This amount of harissa in the sauce is at about a low-medium spicy level. Feel free to add more if you like more heat.
Leftover soup last covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Storage Directions
Refrigeration: Leftover turkey and sweet potato soup keeps covered in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezing: The soup can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.