Harissa sweet potato and squash soup
Soups make an easy lunch in the colder months. They are easy to prepare ahead and can be taken into work in a thermos flask. The key to a soup keeping you sustained for the rest of the day is to include some protein and healthy fats. In this soup we have two sources of protein and healthy fats - the coconut milk and the almond butter. If you are allergic to nuts just leave the almond butter out it won’t make this any less delicious.
ingredients
serves 4
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 leek sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed
200g butternut squash
400ml vegetable or chicken stock
400ml coconut milk
1 tablespoon almond butter
1-2 tablespoon rose harissa paste
method
prep time: 30 mins
Heat the avocado oil in a large shallow pan and add the chopped onion and leek.
Cook for about 8-10 minutes until soft and slightly golden and then add the garlic for a few minutes.
Add the sweet potatoes and butternut squash. I don’t bother peeling the sweet potatoes.
Stir in the vegetable stock and bubble everything together for 20 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and stir in the almond butter and harissa paste. Adjust the amount of harissa depending on personal preference. We like it spicy and so I use 2 tablespoons.
Simmer gently until the sweet potato and squash is soft. Timing will depend on how small they were chopped.
When the sweet potato and squash is soft, blitz the soup in a blender and enjoy.
the health boost tip
Sweet potatoes are a fantastic source of beta-carotene which converts to vitamin A in most of us. Sweet potatoes help to improve blood sugar regulation, even in people with type 2 diabetes despite being a fairly high food on the glycemic index. This is partly due to the high fibre content and party due to the fact that sweet potatoes increase levels of adiponectin in the body, which helps to improve insulin metabolism.
