Charlie’s cabbage soup by Irina Verwer

Inspiration can come from anywhere. My dishes get their inspiration from my yoga practice, hikes in nature, visits to other countries, books… and movies.

For this particular recipe, I was inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
There are days when even mindful, no-chairs-in-my-house, chew-your-food-108-times yoginis long for an evening on a couch, with a movie and something yummy to eat.

When I’m eating while watching a movie, I always make sure to adjust my dishes I prepare for the movie I’m about to see – or vice versa. For instance: I cannot watch Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon or Kung Fu Panda without having a bowl of rice noodle soup or homemade dumplings in my hands.
Somehow watching Stranger Than Fiction with some homemade (raw or freshly baked) cookies enhances the movie-watching as well as the cookie-eating experience.

The first time I’ve watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I naturally thought of chocolate to combine with the movie. So I made these chai brownies and a pot of cacao-ginger-tea. Perfect.

The movie inspired me to create many delicious cakes and chocolate bars (some of which can be found in my book ‘Kopstand in de Keuken’), but also… this cabbage soup!
It’s not the stripped down type Charlie had in the movie, but it’s a delicious spiced lentil cabbage soup. Plus, it’s very suitable for this time of the year, being wintery and warming. Yum!

Ingredients Cabbage Soup

3 litres water
1 cup red lentils
1 cup yellow lentils
3 stalks of kombu
½ block of creamed coconut
1 – 2 tbs Celtic Sea salt
2 tbs garam masala
1 tbs freshly grated ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 white cabbage

Method

Bring the water to a boil. Add the lentils, chopped kombu, creamed coconut, sea salt and spices. Cook until the lentils are almost done. Chop the cabbage and add the thin stripes to the soup. Let simmer until the lentils are completely done. The cabbage should be a little firm, not too mushy.

Text: Irina Verwer
Source: https://www.irinaverwer.com/blog/charlies-cabbage-soup/