Yummy Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

I must say, this soup is so good for you and so easy. It's vegan and it's pretty much unintentional. Nothing but the basics and the flavour is so powerfully delicious.

bbq lentil and baked sweet potato soup

Recipe by Sweet Beet and Green Bean

yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients

about 1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 a medium onion – chopped
2 cloves garlic – minced
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
2 c veggie broth
2 c water
1 c dried lentils
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp liquid smoke

Directions

bake the sweet potatoes ahead of time.  i used traditional light yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes, not the orange-fleshed variety usually called yams.  but you can use either one you’d like since the taste is very similar.

poke each potato with a knife or fork and line them up on a baking sheet.  i like to add about 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan to help them stay moist.  cook at 350F for about 30 minutes, then flip over and add another 1/2 cup water and bake another 30 minutes.  by then they should be soft if poked with a knife, but if not cook a bit longer.

once they are cooked let them sit and cool off thoroughly before handling.  their skins should easily peal off.  crush up any chunks with a fork or potato masher and set aside for later.

to start off the soup heat up the olive oil in a medium pot over moderate heat.  throw in the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.  while they are frying up throw in the salt and cumin as well.

then add the veggie broth and only 1 cup of water.  add in the dry lentils and cover.  the lentils take barely any time to cook, once it’s at a simmer they will be soft in less than 10 minutes.

toss in the sweet potato pulp and the rest of the water, along with the brown sugar and liquid smoke to finish off that barbecue flavor.  add salt to taste depending on the broth you used.

top with some crushed black pepper and a few croutons, and enjoy!