Curried Sweet Potato Soup

I love this soup because it is quick and easy to make, so delicious, and quite nutritious.  You will get plenty of fiber from the sweet potatoes, lentils, celery, and carrots, and plenty of minerals from the homemade chicken broth and celtic sea salt.

 

Now if you told me you had a delicious recipe for soup that called for curry and lentils, I would say, “No thanks!”, but I saw this in a magazine and decided to try it.  I have made this soup many times now because it is SO good!  I encourage you to give it a try.

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup carrot, diced (about 1 carrot)

1/4 cup celery, diced (about 1 celery rib)

1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1 bay leaf

2 Tablespoons fat (you could use coconut oil, I typically use the chicken fat from my homemade broth)

1 1/2 cups sweet potato, peeled, cubed (usually 1 large sweet potato)

1 teaspoon curry powder

4 cups chicken broth (my recipe here)

1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz.)

1/4 cup brown lentils

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

juice of 1/2 a lemon

salt to taste (celtic is best), probably about 1/2 teaspoon

plain yogurt or sour cream to garnish (sour cream is the tastiest!)

 

Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add fat and onions.  While the onions saute, you can dice the carrots–add to the pan.  Then dice the celery and add to the pan.  Peel and dice the sweet potato and add to the pan.  Peel and mince the ginger root (I suppose in a pinch you could use ginger powder.  I just buy a small root, peel the entire thing and then slice and throw in the food processor.  Whatever is more than 1 tablespoon, I freeze for the next time I make this soup.).  Add the ginger, curry, and salt; saute 1 minute.

Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and lentils; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.  Optional:  At this point, I mash it a bit with the potato masher to break up the pieces of sweet potato a bit and thicken the soup slightly.

Off heat, stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro and lemon juice.  Taste and adjust salt, if needed.  Serve with a garnish of sour cream and extra cilantro.

 

This recipe is part of Nourishing Soups and Stews Blog Carnival, hosted by The Nourishing Gourmet.  Check out the link to find many more great soup and stew recipes!