Weekly Recipe #241: Curry Maple Sweet Potato Soup

By Rand Santor, Dietetic Intern [University of Minnesota Medical Center – Fairview]

I grew up in the mountainous state of Vermont and during the winter my friends and I spent a great amount of time hiking and snowboarding on the state’s beautiful mountains. Sometimes, after spending the day on the mountain, my mom would make my friends and me this warm and spicy soup to help warm our frozen fingers and faces. Today this soup remains one of my favorite dishes during the winter time as it combines my favorite vegetable (sweet potato), favorite spice (curry), as well as adding a little taste of Vermont (maple syrup).

It has always been my strong belief that the sweet potato is the superior potato. It’s highly nutritious, inexpensive and flavorful, and takes less time to cook. Sweet potatoes are packed with nutrients. They are an incredible source of vitamin A with one potato containing around 700 % of your daily value. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, potassium, magnesium, copper and manganese.

Curry Maple Sweet Potato Soup

Yields 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups low sodium vegetable stock
• 3 ½ tbsp. curry powder
• 5 tbsp. maple syrup

Directions:

1. Add olive oil to a soup pot and add the onion and garlic to it. Heat over medium high heat until onions become translucent.
2. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for 15 minutes until the potatoes just begin to soften.
3. Add 4 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
4. Once sweet potatoes are fully cooked, remove them from the heat.
5. Using a food processor, puree the sweet potato mixture 1 cup at a time.
6. Transfer the puree mixture back to the soup pot and add the curry powder, maple syrup and the remaining 2 cups of vegetable stock.
7. Allow the pot to simmer for about 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
8. Let cool and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Per serving: 300 calories, 2.9 total g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 40 g carbohydrate, 3.7 g fiber, 140 mg sodium