Veggie-Rice Soup with Dal

I love the challenge of turning the contents of my veggie drawer into a soup. This recipe is wonderfully flexible and can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. My trick is to add Everyday Dal to the pot, adding flavor and thickness and marrying all the ingredients together. No other seasoning is needed, just salt and pepper, and maybe a squeeze of lime. What could be easier?

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

3 medium leeks (or 1 large onion), sliced

2 medium carrots, diced

2 stalks of celery, diced

1 tbsp tomato paste

6-8 cups water or stock

1 cup frozen corn

½ bunch of spinach, chard or kale, washed and coarsely chopped

2-3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 pouch Green Split Pea, Spinach & Coconut Organic Everyday Dal (or other variety)

1 pouch of Turmeric Cumin Organic Surekha Rice (or other variety) or 1 heaping cup of cooked rice

Salt and pepper

Chopped scallions for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium high. Add the leeks, carrots and celery and sauté 10 minutes until everything is soft.

Step 2
Add tomato paste and stir briefly, then add 6 cups of water and turn the heat to high.

Step 3
When the water is boiling, add the corn, greens, chopped tomatoes, Everyday Dal and rice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes to combine the flavors and cook the veggies. Add more water as needed.

Step 4
Serve garnished with chopped scallions and a nice crusty loaf.