Red Lentil Soup with Bok Choy, Garlic Scapes, and Kale Chips

This recipe doesn’t fit neatly within a culinary category. Even though it uses shoyu and bok choy, it’s not really a traditional Asian flavor profile. It’s mostly a response to: what can we make with the ingredients that are available on the farm right now? And somehow it works— it’s deeply savory with a bright crunch of raw and slightly vinegar-y bok choy. 

This is also the first recipe where we had direct customer involvement: thank you to Jen and Kyle for joining our inaugural recipe testing session on Monday! We tried two variations of this dish and, through their help and feedback, settled on the one that required fewer steps in the kitchen (phew). Much gratitude, all around!

The garlic scapes are definitely the seasonal ingredient I wanted to highlight in this recipe. And, given our inventory of garlic growing and the number of customers we now have, this will likely be the only week this summer with garlic scapes on the menu. They are one of my favorite ingredients of the year and they always feel extra special due to the limited availability.

That said, I do think the kale chips are the star of the week (Mark’s opinion, too). You’ll receive a bundle of huge kale leaves (variety Nero di Toscana or Dazzling Blue), which create beautiful, flattened crispy chips, lightly seasoned with shoyu or soy sauce. You can crumple them over the lentils, but invariably we devour them while waiting for the meal to finish.

Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Kale Chips + Roasted Garlic Scapes

• 5-6 large kale leaves, thick stems removed and torn into large pieces

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp shoyu or soy sauce

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

• A pinch of salt

• 5 garlic scapes, pointed tips removed

Lentils

• 6 cups water

• 2 cups dried red lentils

• 2 tsp salt

• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped, about 1 cup

• 1 tsp shoyu or soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
  

Toppings

• 5 roasted garlic scapes, chopped into small pieces

• 3 cups finely chopped bok choy

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp shoyu

• 1 tsp white wine vinegar

• Cilantro blossoms to garnish

1) Preheat the oven to 300*. In a large mixing bowl, add the torn kale leaves and drizzle with the olive oil, shoyu, white wine vinegar, and salt. Mix so that all the leaves are evenly coated with the dressing. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and arrange the leaves so they form a single flat layer. Add the garlic scapes to the mixing bowl to coat them with the remaining dressing and then place them on top of the kale leaves. It’s okay if the scapes curl up, as they’ll eventually flatten in the oven.

2) Roast for 15-20 minutes until the kale becomes crispy (think dried seaweed snack texture). Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheets. They’ll continue to crisp up over time, too. Set aside the roasted garlic scapes for later in the recipe.

3) To prepare the lentils, bring 6 cups of water to boil. Add the lentils and salt and reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (especially in the beginning when it has a tendency to clump). It should be thick and porridge-like. At the end, stir in the cilantro, shoyu, and white wine vinegar. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

4) In another bowl, combine the roasted garlic scapes, bok choy, olive oil, shoyu, and white wine vinegar.  

5) Ladle the lentils into individual serving bowls and add a scoop of the bok choy mixture. Garnish with cilantro blossoms. If you want, add a little drizzle of shoyu and/or white wine vinegar to really boost the flavors.