Yellow Split-Pea Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Kale

Pour the canola oil over the seeds and stir them lightly. As soon as the seeds begin to pop, mix them in with the onions.

Add the ginger and garlic, and cook for one more minute.

Add the sweet potatoes, water, split peas and 1 tablespoon curry powder. Stir well. If using a pressure cooker, seal the cooker and bring it up to high pressure. Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes; then remove from the heat and allow the pressure to come down naturally. If you’re cooking it in a regular pot, cover the pot and simmer until the split peas are tender and beginning to break down, about an hour. Stir regularly to make sure that the split peas don’t stick to the bottom of the pan, and add water if necessary. While the soup is cooking, wash the kale and remove and discard the tough central rib. Chop the leaves coarsely. When the split peas are cooked, add the kale to the pot, season to taste with salt and additional curry powder, if necessary, and add additional water if the soup is too thick. Cover the pot. For kale that retains some crunch, simply leave the pot covered for 5 or 10 minutes without heating, allowing the kale to cook in the heat of the soup. For kale that is more tender, you may return the pot to low heat for 10 minutes.