Meatless Monday: Sweet Potato & Chickpea Soup

Sweet potatoes - a delicious, inexpensive and nutritious ingredient

An oldie but a goodie. I got this recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book and she says she got the idea from Mollie Katzen, the author of the original  Moosewood Cookbook. It's chock full of healthy things like sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and tomatoes. But, it's very easy to put together with mostly pantry items. I have made a few adjustments to the amounts but it's pretty close to Brody's original. Serve this with crusty bread and you have yourself a meal.

Gypsy Soup
(serves 4-6, costs $6.00)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 large stalk celery, chopped
1 medium green pepper, diced (can use 1 cup frozen diced peppers)
1 medium (12 oz.) sweet potato or yam, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
3 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon dried basil
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
1 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes, undrained
1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon soy sauce
salt, how much depends on the saltiness of the vegetable broth

In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, celery, green pepper, and sweet potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, bay leaf, paprika, turmeric, basil, cinnamon, and cayenne (if using). Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, covered, for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, and chickpeas and simmer for another 10 minutes. The sweet potatoes should be quite tender at this point. Stir in the soy sauce, taste, and add salt, if needed.

Adapted from Jane Brody's Good Food Book, W.W. Norton & Company, 1985.