Make this dinner especially easy by throwing uncooked rice right into your soup. This Gluten Free Coconut Curry Kale Soup only takes one pot and is a winner dinner for those vegetarian nights.
Holla!!! We’re headed for a staycation at the Disney resort Aulani for the weekend. My girls couldn’t be more stoked. In their eyes, all their wildest dreams and fantasies will come true over the next four days.
Braelyn took it upon herself to enlist grandma to help her pack this afternoon so that she would be all ready for tomorrow’s adventure. She even taped up a to do list for the morning with all the last minute items she needs to throw into her suitcase.
Oh, and don’t get me started on the suitcase. She wanted to use a carry-on sized suitcase all for herself. I informed her that Emry would be sharing that same suitcase and she about flipped out. “But MOM!!!!! I spent all this hard work and you’re just ruining it! I need ALL this room!!! How will it even fit???!”
Sure enough, it all fit. Just fine, I might add. Crisis averted.
Part of the reason Braelyn is so excited to go to the Disney resort is because she got stiffed on going to Disneyland two summers ago. We were supposed to take her during my family’s vacation to San Diego. She ended up with strep the day of and spent the first half of the day at urgent care and the second half of the day cooped up at the beach house with grandma eating popsicles, which I’m sure she thoroughly enjoyed.
Anyhow, Ben and I ended up tackling Disneyland sans kids with the rest of my family and we felt guilty every single minute of it. Ever since, Braelyn has begged to somehow make her way back to Disney. And since we are stuck on an island (gratefully), Aulani is the closest to Disney that we are going to get. And boy are we excited!!!
You know, that’s what life is all about; sometimes the unexpected happens, but most often it all turns out alright in the end. I mean, this scenario doesn’t get much better: miss out on Disneyland, MOVE TO HAWAII, and then enjoy the magic of Disney in paradise. Seems to me like it worked out in Braelyn’s favor.
Another unexpected life moment came about in a batch of soup. This batch of soup. Gluten Free Coconut Curry Kale Soup to be exact.
My family doesn’t love curry.
My family doesn’t love coconut.
My family doesn’t love kale. Actually, they pretty much hate kale.
I, however, like all three things and since I am the cook, I make what I want. You can imagine their excitement when I told them what was on the menu for dinner: COCONUT CURRY KALE soup. Yeah, they were thrilled.
But guess what??? They LOVED it! Emry not only had two helpings of soup that night, but she also requested it for lunch the next two days in a row. Which, by the way, this soup just keeps getting better and better the longer it sits.
This soup is creamy from the coconut milk, yet light in flavor and texture. It is nowhere near as heavy or thick as a chowder. It has a lightly sweet undertone permeating from the coconut cream base and from the touch of coconut sugar that balances out the curry spice.
Not only is the curry flavor superb, but this soup is chalk full of healthy veggies. You’ve got loads of carrots, celery, onions, and mushrooms in addition to the full package of chopped kale that I threw in. It’s a powerhouse soup for sure! And by the way, the kale gets nice and soft as it cooks and ends up more like spinach; yummy spinach.
Oh, and how can I forget the fresh ginger??? I’ve been on a ginger kick lately. I’ve been using it in sweet and savory dishes alike, and have grown to become quite fond of it’s unique flavor. It really adds a nice touch to this comfort soup.
I also love the fact that you can pour the uncooked rice in with the soup and an hour later you have perfectly cooked rice in your soup that has absorbed all sorts of flavor. Depending on your rice, the cooking time may vary with how long it takes to become tender. My wild rice blend took about an hour or slightly over. Just be patient my dears.
And lastly, top this soup off with some yummy toppings. I’m all about the toasted coconut flakes, fresh cilantro, and avocado. That’s a winning topping team right there. And if you’re not a topping fan…first of all, what is wrong with you?????!…and secondly you can just eat your bowl plain. It’s still gonna knock your socks off!
Are you a curry fan?
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped (including leaves)
- 8 oz. package mushrooms, rinsed and chopped
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 10 oz. bag chopped kale
- 1 qt. vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups uncooked wild rice blend or brown rice
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk
- juice of 1-2 limes, depending on taste (1-2 tablespoons)
- cilantro for garnish
- In a large pot, heat coconut oil over medium heat. As coconut oil is heating, chop onion and carrots. Once pan is hot enough that drop of water sizzles, add onion and carrots to pot. Season with a few shakes of salt and pepper, and stir. Chop celery and mushrooms and add to pot. Season with additional shakes of salt and pepper. Cook veggies until almost tender, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and grated ginger to pot. Cook 1 minute more. Add kale to pot and stir until beginning to wilt. Add a few more shakes of salt and pepper. Cook for additional 3-5 minutes until kale is wilted.
- Add vegetable or chicken stock, coconut sugar, curry, salt, pepper, coriander, turmeric, red pepper flakes, and rice. Stir and increase heat to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 50 minutes to 1 hour until rice is cooked through. Add coconut milk and lime juice.
- Season to taste with salt, pepper, curry powder, and additional lime juice if preferred. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
