Soup season is well underway, which means it’s time to pull out your pantry staples and whip up this piping hot sweet potato soup with crispy kidney beans.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 1 hour

INGREDIENTS
500 g purple-skin sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 large red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 cups vegetable stock
½ cup kidney beans
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp paprika
Fresh thyme, to garnish

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Wash the sweet potatoes, then use a vegetable peeler to peel long strips of skin. Place the skins on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake them for 20–30 minutes, until crispy.
3. Chop sweet potatoes into chunks and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme. Place on a baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, until soft, turning them halfway through.
4. Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic, then remove from the heat.
5. In a large pot, heat the vegetable stock until simmering, then add the sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Purée the soup with a stick blender.
6. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pan over high heat. Add the kidney beans and sprinkle with cumin and paprika. Fry until crispy.
7. Serve the sweet potato soup with crispy beans and sweet-potato skins, garnished with fresh thyme.

Recipes & styling: Amerae Vercueil & Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

Sweet potato is one of those veggies you can add to almost anything, and it’s this versatility that makes it a favourite! Try our BBQ butter bean and sweet potato pot next.