Sunday, February 16, 2014

Sweet Potato Carrot Quinoa Soup

 
I've made this soup four times now. Finally, I am blogging about it and sharing it with you all. 'Bout time, I'd say! This soup is a real winner. It's easy, healthy, and filling...and oh-so-perfect for this brutal cold, snowy winter we're having!

The recipe is from Cookin' Canuck, a delightful blog with beautiful photography. If you want to see really lovely photos of this soup, check out her blog post about it!

Since I've made this a few times now, I've adapted the recipe slightly. The ingredients below are what I typically use when I make it. If you decide to make this, be sure to read the recipe through all the way first. You'll want to keep in mind that the recipe calls for a cup of cooked quinoa. So, you could cook the quinoa as the sweet potatoes are roasting, or if you have leftover quinoa from another meal, keep it and use it for this soup!

Ingredients:

-3 medium sweet potatoes
-1/2 large onion (or 1 medium), diced
-3 or 4 large carrots, diced
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-32 oz. chicken or vegetable stock (low sodium)
-1 cup water
-salt and pepper, to taste
-3/4 tsp. dried herbs de provence
-1 to 1 and 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
-shredded or grated cheese (your choice) to garnish, if desired
-pumpkin seeds to garnish, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes and peel if desired (I do not peel them because I like the skin). Dice into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes. Do the same with the carrots (although I do peel my carrots). Place both sweet potatoes and carrots on large baking sheet and drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes.

With about 5 to 10 minutes remaining in the roast time for the sweet potatoes, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until tender. Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot, and slowly pour in chicken broth, water, and herbs de provence. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to simmer the mixture for 15 to 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. If using a hand blender, blend soup right in the pot until vegetables are pureed. If using a regular blender, add soup to the blender but let it cool for 10 or 15 minutes before blending to puree it. If you find the soup to be too thick for your liking, add a little bit of water at a time and continue to blend. Return soup to pot over low heat and stir in cooked quinoa. Taste, and add salt and pepper, if desired.

When ready to serve, ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded (or grated) cheese and/or pumpkin seeds, if desired. Serve with your favorite crackers, bread, or just have the soup by itself! Makes 4 to 6 servings.



If you have time, I bet it would be yummy to toast your pumpkin seeds a bit too! We like to top our soup with both cheese and pumpkin seeds. :)


Enjoy!

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