Sweet potatoes are absolutely beautiful. Wherever a restaurant offers them, I always pick sweet potato fries over regular fries. For this spicy sweet potato and carrot soup, I added in a spicy kick by including a chilli and some wonderfully fragrant spices to compliment the naturally sweeter taste of the vegetables. The result is this hearty, warming soup, perfect for enjoying for lunch or as a light dinner.
I love spicy food and chillis. I once went around a tour of a hydroponic chilli farm and was in absolute heaven. I took home more chillis than I knew what to do with, and indulged in a chilli tasting session. This peaked in tasting a Dorset Naga (ghost chilli), which left my mouth burning for the entire car journey home. Apparently many people wuss out before getting that far, and I can’t say I blame them! I’ve kept the spices relatively light here, adding just a small amount of cumin and garam masala – just to compliment the taste, rather than overpower it. You season this with the salt and pepper at the end before blending, giving you the opportunity to taste the soup beforehand to ensure you get the seasoning just right. I used roughly 1tsp salt and 1tsp black pepper, but the choice is yours.
I like to serve this with a bit of extra black pepper cracked on top of the soup, and with a generous handful of croutons. The crunch of the croutons really helps to make this a wonderfully satisfying light meal. What is your favourite soup? Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!
A warming and flavourful yet simple sweet potato and carrot soup
- 2 Sweet Potatoes Peeled and chopped
- 1 Carrot Peeled and chopped
- 1 White Onion peeled and chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 1 Whole Red chilli
- 1.2 litres Vegetable Stock fresh or made from stock cubes
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
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Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry the chopped onion for 5 mins, add the garlic and fry for a further 5 mins, until for onions have gone soft and transparent. Stir often to prevent the onions catching on the bottom of the pan
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Chop the stalk off the chilli, and chop in half. Deseed if you like, but I don’t tend to bother.
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Into the pan, add the cubes of sweet potato and carrot, the chilli, the cumin and garam masala, and the stock - there should be enough to generously cover the veg.
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Bring to the boil, and simmer it with the lid on for approximately 30 minutes, until the squash is soft.
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Once ready, season with the salt and pepper to taste, and blend with a hand blender until completely smooth.
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At this point, if the soup is too thin, leave it to simmer over a mid - high heat to thicken to the desired consistency, so add a splash of boiling water if it is too thick.
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Serve immediately, and enjoy!
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