Sweet Potato Soup with Spinach & Harissa

-
I love sweet potato soup.  I wanted to try this recipe because I had spinach from the farmers market as well as a jar of harissa.  Harissa is also known as Tunisian chili paste. This spice mixture originated in Tunisia. It contains chilies, cumin, garlic, coriander, caraway seeds, cinnamon, olive oil and sometimes tomatoes.  The harissa that I have is quite hot.  The first time I used it, my husband said he couldn't eat the dish.  I didn't think it was quite that hot, but now I use less then the recipe calls for and add more after tasting.  This recipe originally called for 1 1/2 tablespoons of harissa.  I cut it in half and used 2 teaspoons.  Your harissa may not be as hot as mine or you may have a higher tolerance than Arthur.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tbsp creamy peanut butter (chunky is OK too)
2 teaspoons harissa paste (read intro above)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground turmeric
3/4 tsp ground cumin
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 5 cups)
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
3-4 oz. baby spinach leaves (about 2 cups packed)  If you are using larger spinach leaves just chop them up a bit.
Salt to taste
Garnish with chopped peanuts (optional, but good)

Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add leeks and saute 5 to 7 minutes.  Stir in tomato paste, peanut butter, harissa, garlic, turmeric and cumin.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add sweet potatoes, broth and 1 1/2 cups water.  Simmer over medium-low heat, partially covered, 20 to 25 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.
  2. Blend mixture with immersion blender, adding more water if soup is too thick.  Bring soup back to a simmer and stir in spinach leaves. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fresh Amaranth (Red Spinach)

-
Image
Amaranth Leaves are very similar to spinach in flavor and use. They're beautiful to look at. Its tempting to just keep the bunch as a decorative bouquet. This time I decided to use mine in Chinese Spinach Curry. This is not a perfected recipe, but I would make it again so I thought it was worth posting. Thotakura Palakura Tomato Kura 1 tablespoon peanut oil or other mild oil ¼ teaspoon each--cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves (I think the quantity of these spices should be doubled) 1 big onion - finely sliced, about one cup 2 tomatoes - finely chopped, about one cup 5 green chillies--finely chopped (I used 1 Serrano, which I seeded--5 seemed excessive for our tastes but it needed either more than 1 pepper or to leave in some of the seeds. In other words it lacked heat) 1 teaspoon - ginger garlic paste ½ tsp each- turmeric and salt 1 bunch fresh amaranth (leaves and tender stems) - finely chopped, about 5 cups 1 bunch fresh spinach - finely chopped, about 5 cups 1 can of chick...
Read more

Roasted Beets & Carrots with Couscous and Citrus Dressing

-
This dish can be served warm or cold, leftover the next day.  Delicious both ways.  It is a bit labor-intensive but very tasty and a good way to use some of those winter vegetables. 1# beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks 1/2# carrots, cut into thick coins 1/2# onions red or yellow onions or shallot, cut into chunks (a little less is fine) 1/2 cup Citrus Vinaigrette 1 cup Israeli couscous 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped 1 large sprig of thyme, if fresh is not available sprinkle in some dry 1/4-1/2 tsp. dried chile flakes 1/2 cup salted roasted sunflower seeds (raw seeds are also OK) 1 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese Heat oven to 450℉. Toss the beets with a small amount of olive or sunflower oil, season with salt and pepper and spread on a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast for 10 minutes.  Toss the carrots and onions with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Add to the baking sheet.  Roast all the vegetable...
Read more

Celery Root, Cracked Wheat, and Every-Fall-Vegetable-You-Can-Find-Chowder

-
This soup turned out to be tastier than I expected which is why I'm including it in my blog so that I don't forget about making it again. I think it is due to the celery root puree. This makes it necessary to add another step to preparing the soup but it is definitely worthwhile.  You could substitute another grain for the cracked wheat, such as farro.  However, I happened to have cracked wheat available and it cooks quickly. 1 celeriac (celery root 3/4 - 1#) 1/2# onions, sliced (yellow or red) 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced or chopped 3 tablespoons unsalted butter Kosher (or sea salt) and cracked black pepper 2 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil 1 cup cracked wheat Several sprigs fresh thyme if available, otherwise use dried thyme 1 stalk celery, diced -- note, I used my vegetable chopper to chop all the root vegetables so they were about a 1/2 inch dice 1 carrot, diced 1 turnip, diced (I didn't have a turnip so I used a daikon radish) 1 medium potato, unp...
Read more