Adventures with Coconut: Sweet, Savory and Smooth
I’ve set off on a coconut adventure creating three different recipes using young thai coconuts in order to illustrate just how versatile this healthful, delicious ingredient can be as well as to demonstrate how easy it can be to incorporate into a flavorful, plant-based diet.
This is just the third post in my Adventures With Coconut series, so be sure to subscribe to future posts in order to be notified about upcoming recipes!
Last week when I was planning my grocery list for the week I came across a delicious looking recipe for curry lentil soup. Not only does this recipe combine two of my favorite things, but it also fits perfectly into my Adventures with Coconut series!
I modified the original recipe in a few ways by:
- Using homemade coconut milk from young thai coconuts – Whenever I see a recipe that involved coconut milk I immediately picture coconut milk in a can or a box. However, now that I have the ability to easily open coconuts at home, I have ventured into new ways of obtaining this plant-base milk.
- Using kale instead of spinach – Don’t get me wrong, I love spinach in my soup (let’s be honest – in everything!). Because I use spinach in so many things and I’m always looking for ways to incorporate different leafy greens, I decided to use kale instead. You could also use chard or collard greens.
- Add spice from fresh jalapeños instead of red pepper flakes – I like to use fresh ingredients over dried whenever possible, so I opted for fresh jalapeños to give the desired spice to my soup. If you like a lot of spice, you could use serrano peppers.
- 1 yellow or white onion
- 2 diced tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon jalapeño (more or less to adjust spiciness)
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 young thai coconuts (or 1 can coconut milk)
- 1 1/2 cups red lentils, rinsed
- 3 tablespoons curry powder
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bunch raw kale
- salt and pepper to taste
- cilantro for garnish
- Open your coconuts (I used a Coco Jack.
- Pour the water into a bowl.
- Scrape out the meat.
- Add 2 cups of coconut meat and 2 cups of coconut water to a blender (I used my Vitamix and blend until smooth.
- Heat the oil in a soup pot.
- Chop the onion, add to the pot and sauté over medium until they become translucent.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
- Add the broth, coconut milk, lentils, kale, curry powder and tomato paste and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper as needed.
- Garnish with cilantro.