Sweet Potato and Curry Soup

It's winter.  It's cold (well for Brisbane), and it's soup weather.  This recipe is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe from his book The Ministry of Food.  He makes his with a whole chorizo sausage in it, which was delicious, but it doesn't fit with my new Living Well program, so I've adapted it.

Ingredients:
2 carrots
2 sticks celery
2 medium brown onions
2 cloves garlic
1.2kg sweet potato (kumera)
bunch of fresh parsley
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1.8 litres water or stock (can be chicken or for vegetarian use vegetable stock)
1 heaped teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
fresh red chilli (optional)


Method:

Gather together all your ingredients.

Prepare all your vegetables - Peel and roughly slice the carrots, Slice the celery, Peel and roughly chop the onions, Peel and slice the garlic, Peel and chop the sweet potato, Finely chop the parsley leaves and stalks.

Put a large pan on medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of EVOO.  Add all your chopped vegetables and curry powder, and mix together with a wooden spoon.  Cook for 10-15 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened but are still holding their shape, and the onion is lightly golden.

Add the stock to the pot, give it a good stir and bring to the boil.  Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked through.

Using a hand blender, pulse or blend until the soup is a consistency to your liking.  Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. 

The soup's now ready to serve.  It should make about 6 bowls.  You can garnish it with chopped chilli or herbs.  Serve it with good crusty toasted bread.  This is a must.  I try and buy a good quality sourdough loaf or baguette.

Notes & Variations:   A variation would be to add some fresh red chilli or chilli powder if you like some heat.  You can increase or decrease the amount of sweet potato depending on how thick you like your soup.  I ladle the left over soup into take-away food containers and freeze them, then I can just defrost and re-heat for a quick healthy lunch.

Seasonal:  Sweet potato is in season in autumn and winter.

Nutrition:  Sweet potato is low in sodium, and is  a good source of dietary fibre, Vitamin B6, potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium and magnesium.  It is low GI and is anti-inflammatory.  (source - self nutrition data)

Interesting Facts:  Most sweet potato in Australia is grown in Queensland - in Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Mareeba (source) China is the world's largest producer of sweet potato and the Japanese consume an estimated one million tonnes of sweet potato per year (source).