Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup

This soup has exotic African origins but the ingredients are all comfortably familiar; chances are you already have everything on hand you need to make it. Its sweetness, from sweet potato and carrot, is heightened with honey and balanced with the clarity of ginger and hot pepper. Peanut butter brings it all together and makes it extra rich and satisfying. And don't forget the fresh scallions. Much more than a pretty garnish, they add an essential zingy freshness and crunch.

This last week I made Ellie Krieger's Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup (recipe is on page 77). It's officially fall and I wanted to make some sort of soup I could bring for lunch. I've made Ellie's Curried Butternut Squash Soup in the past and was quite pleased with the thickness of pureed vegetables in my soup. It makes it hearty and I love that.

This soup is super good for you. One serving, about a cup and half, rolls in around 295 calories, 6.5 grams of fat, 56 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein. It has an excellent source (at least 20% of your Daily Recommended Value) of calcium, fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, protein, thiamin, vitamin a, vitamin b6, vitamin c, and vitamin e.

Don't be scared off by the peanut butter, honey, and vegetables. They surprisingly work well together.


I really need to figure out how to take photos in the winter or else this is going to be a long winter...



Ellie Krieger, The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
Sweet and Spicy Peanut Soup (pg. 77)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
2 medium carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed (2 cups)
6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
One 14.5-ounce can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with their juices
2/3 cup creamy natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 cup chopped scallion greens (about 3 scallions)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and carrots and cook, stirring, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the cayenne, black pepper, garlic, and ginger and cook for 1 minute more. Sitr in the sweet potato, broth, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender or in a regular blender in two batches and return the soup to the pot. Add the peanut butter and honey and stir, over low heat, until the peanut butter melts. Server warm, garnished with the scallions.

Enjoy!