Immunity-boosting Winter Soup

Total Time: 55 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• dandelion greens, 1 large handful
• 2 quarts water
• 1 stick astragalus root, broken in half
• 2 inches gingerroot, peeled and grated
• 1 small dried cayenne pepper, stemmed and seeded, diced fine
• 1 garlic, bulb peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 ounce dried shiitake mushroom, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 large sweet potato, diced into small cubes (between 3 and 4 cups)
• 1 tablespoon calendula flowers, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves, minced (generous tsps)
• 1 cup bell pepper, diced (red or yellow)
• couple pinches cinnamon
• 2 cups spinach, coarsely chopped
• sea salt
• fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 to prepare dandelion: rinse greens thoroughly. remove and chop stems, then coarsely chop leaves. keep chopped leaves separate from chopped stems. set aside.
• 2 in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot, combine water, astragalus, ginger, cayenne, garlic, shiitake and turmeric. cover and place over medium-high heat. bring to a simmer, then lower heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 3 add sweet potato, stir, cover and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes. add minced herbs, bell pepper and cinnamon. stir well, cover and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, adding dandelion stems after 3 or 4 minutes.
• 4 finally, add spinach and dandelion greens. season generously with salt and pepper, and cook for 4 or 5 minutes until greens are wilted and tender. adjust seasonings. remove astragalus root before serving.