African Sweet Potato Soup

One of the only redeeming factors of cold weather is the comfort of a nice hot bowl of soup to warm you up. Though I thought San Francisco was never supposed to be extremely cold, I've seen a trend of 40 and 50 degree days. This certainly constitutes soup days and discourages outside activity. So while I await a glimpse of warmth (which in SF is 60s/70s...still not warm enough) I'll make soup so there is at least something nice and comforting.

On Top Chef All-Stars one of the contestants had recently made an African Groundnut Soup - a complex take on a simple sweet potato/peanut butter soup. Though I would like to make her recipes one of these days, complete with a roasted pepper and adzuki bean garnish, I opted for an easier version of the comforting soup for this night.

African Sweet Potato Soup

(I swear, I cannot seem to take a good picture of soup...)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce
ground black pepper to taste
1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup peanut butter

Garnish:
chopped cilantro
chopped peanuts

Preparation

Place a large pot over medium heat. Once it is warmed, add the oil and the onions. Cook for 5–7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, and the spices and stir thoroughly. Cook for 5 minutes and add a little broth if necessary to keep the vegetables from sticking.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the can of tomatoes and the broth. Stir the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the vegetables simmer for 25–30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to make smooth.

Increase the heat to medium and stir in the peanut butter. Cook for 5 minutes until the peanut butter is thoroughly combined and warmed. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro if desired.


The bit of chili-garlic sauce added into the soup just made it. The sweet potatoes and the peanut butter are fairly rich, so when you add a nice kick to it - the soup is simply taken to another level. Then the cilantro on top is a must in my opinion. That adds the needed freshness to make it a complete dish.

Next time I'll try the top chef recipe if I'm feeling a bit more adventurous but this was even more enjoyable than I thought it would be...so I achieved both goals: warmth and tastiness in one dish.