Kale Hazelnut Lentil Soup

This soup blew my mind. And it was easy. A friend made a soup using some of these ingredients and I added some more that sounded good:

Ingredients:
4-6 leaves of Kale, ripped into pieces
1 leek, sliced in rounds
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 med. yellow potatoes, cubed
1 cup lentils
2 carrots, chopped
hazelnuts
2 Tbsp bulk fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme), diced
2-4 Cups veggie broth
salt and pepper, to taste

How it was made:
Start by cooking 1 cup of lentils in 2 Cups veggie broth, 3 cups water in a large soup pot. All of the soup will need to fit in here, so make sure you are using a big pot). After the lentils have been cooking for around 15 minutes add in potatoes (and any spare springs of the herbs). Continue to cook until lentils and potatoes are soft.

While the lentils cook, saute carrots, onion and leek in olive oil. After they start to soften (turn translucent) add the herbs, salt and pepper, and hazelnuts. Cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Add the veggies and nuts into the lentil and potato pot. Don't forget to take out the springs of herbs if you added them in. No one wants to bite into a twig...actually, maybe some people do. You decide. Add the kale and let it soften for a minute or two. Before moving on.

Now, I bet the soup can be eaten as is, but I used a hand held immersion blender to make the soup thick and more homogeneous, eliminating bigger pieces of kale, carrot and hazelnut. You could also do small batches in a blender, or food processor. I also noted that the soup was more thick than I intended, so I took the liberty of adding 1/2 cup more water. Again, you decide.

Completed with a couple slices of rustic bread, this meal is incredibly filling and very nutritious.