The best kale goulash for winter

This year there was no cold winter weather so far in my country. I really hope those freezing days will never come. The days when there is so cold that your hands hurts and you just hate being outside.
The only hope in those bad winter times is good, filling food. And can be something better than a solid serving of good veggie goulash with kasha.
This year I’m planning to fight with winter using the best vegan goulash ever. Made of my beloved kale with red pepper, leek, onion, sparsely carrot and lentils. But the really special things abut this dish are dried mushrooms, prunes and a bit of liquor.

Ingredients:
about 5 servings

3 tbsp canola oil
1 leek (the white part)
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
1 medium carrot
1 medium parsley
8 large stalks kale
20g dried mushrooms
100ml liquor like vodka
500ml vegetable stock
1 cup (240ml) water from soaking mushrooms
250g lentils or white beans*
130g dried plums (prunes)
7-8 tsp French mustard
bay leaf, few allspice
salt
pepper
sweet paprika
mayoram

*cooked or canned, if using canned ones remember to drain them well

1. Wash and peel veggies. Cut the leek lengthwise and then slice into half moons. Chop the onion and papepper. Mince garlic. Shred carrot and parsley.

2. Remove stalks from kale leaves an cut it finely. Soak the mushrooms in the hot water for a while. Drain them, save the water and chop them. Also chop the prunes.

3. In the large pot heat the canola oil. Add onion and leek and cook for about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another 1 minutes. Add pepper, carrot and parsley and cook under cover until soft.

4 Add kale, vodka and cook for a while, then add the stock, water from soaking mushrooms. Add lentils, mushrooms, mustard am spices. Cook under cover for abut 40 minutes on low heat. In the middle of cooking time add chopped prunes. Adjust seasoning before serving.

Serve with kasha or buckwheat groats.

Nutrition info:

Whole goluash:
1600 calories
proteins: 35g; fats: 49,5g; carbohydrates:171g; dietary fibre: 50g
iron: 21mg; calcium: 839mg; zinc:9,1mg

1 serving:
320 calories
proteins: 7g; fats: 9,9g; carbohydrates: 34,3g; dietary fibre: 10g
iron: 4,1mg; calcium:168mg; zinc: 1,8mg