Spicy Sweet Potato and Black Eyed Pea Soup!

by jessyratfink in Cooking > Soups & Stews

9796 Views, 80 Favorites, 0 Comments

Spicy Sweet Potato and Black Eyed Pea Soup!

IMG_0676.JPG
This is an excellent soup for cold weather. It's filling, spicy, and colorful. Also vegan! Hooray!

It might sound weird, but once you try you'll realize sweet potatoes and black eyed peas were meant to be together!

It takes about an hour to make and will serve several people. :)

Ingredients!

IMG_0653.JPG
  • one sweet potato
  • one stalk of celery 
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • roasted red pepper (equivalent to about half of a bell pepper)
  • one heaping cup of dried black eye peas
  • one onion
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • generous pinch of dried red pepper
  • a tbsp or there-abouts of tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • water to cover (normally about 4 cups)
  • salt and pepper to taste!
  • chopped cilantro or parsley, about 2 tbsp to stir in at end. (optional)

Prep the Veggies.

IMG_0657.JPG
Cut the celery in half lengthwise and slice thinly.
Dice the onion.
Squeeze the excess water or oil out of the roasted red pepper and chop it up.
Mince the garlic. 
Cube the sweet potato into 1/2 inch pieces. 

At this point, you can also rinse and pick your beans. :)

Cooking, Part 1.

IMG_0669.JPG
IMG_0667.JPG
IMG_0665.JPG
IMG_0663.JPG
IMG_0662.JPG
IMG_0660.JPG
Film the bottom of a pot with olive oil and set the heat to medium high. Let this heat until the oil shimmers.

Then, drop in your onion and celery and cook them, stirring frequently, until they become soft and slightly translucent. 

Now drop in your spices and minced garlic and stir everything well until it becomes very fragrant - then you can add the tomato paste!

Finally, drop in your sweet potato, roasted red pepper and black eyed peas, stir, and then cover with water. (Just do it enough to cover. It usually takes about 4 cups for me!)


Cooking, Part 2.

IMG_0671.JPG
Bring this to a boil, and then cover and reduce to a simmer. 

You'll let this simmer for 45 minutes, or until the black eyed peas get soft. 

Make sure to stir it frequently - but not too rough - you don't want to smash the sweet potatoes to bits! And when you stir, make sure to check the water level. Add a little more if you needs to. :D

Once your black eyed peas have softened, turn off the heat and stir in some parsley or cilantro.


Serve!

IMG_0673.JPG
Goes great with cornbread.

Then again, everything goes great with cornbread. :D