Sweet Potato and Bean Soup

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make. I wanted to make muffins as well this evening, so made a dinner that could literally just be thrown together and left.

It's pretty much a Jill Dupleix recipe (my mum sent it to me ages ago from one of her recipe books and I've found it online http://www.jilldupleix.com/recipes/rec067.php), I've just upped the spice a bit.

There is a really nice amount of heat to this, and the flame orange colour of the soup and the red of the paprika reinforces the spicy taste.

Ingredients:

4 medium - large orange fleshed sweet potatoes, cut into small pieces

5 cups of boiling water or veg stock (I crumbled a stock cube over the veg and added water on top)

Salt and pepper

400g can of white beans, rinsed (I used cannelini beans. Butterbeans would also be good and Chickpeas would give a more Moroccan taste)

1 heaped tsp curry power (I used medium heat)

1 heaped tsp ground cumin

Plain soy yoghurt (or dairy if you prefer)

Paprika to sprinkle

A small handful of parsley, chopped

To make:

1) Put the sweet potatoes, stock or water and salt (not too much) and pepper in a pot. Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer. I left it for about half an hour while I made muffins.

2) When the potato is very soft, take off the heat and add the spices and 1/2 the can of beans, stir well.

3) Either transfer to a blender or use a stick blender to get a smooth soup. I prefer using a stick blender as there's no fuss with transferring and you don't need to wait for it to cool.

4) If you have used a blender, return to the pot and add the other 1/2 of the beans. If it's too thick for your liking, add a bit more boiling water to achieve the consistency you like, bring the soup back to a gentle simmer.

5) Pour into bowls and top with a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt, a sprinkling of paprika and some parsley. Serve with mini naan breads if desired.

So easy, so healthy, yet so delicious and very visually appealing.

I would say served 4 with bread, but this served 2 very big bowls (with one having a second bowl) without bread.