This creamy, vegetable filled Spiced Sweet Potato and Spinach Soup celebrates the wonderful Moroccan inspired flavor and aroma. Smoky paprika, cumin, and cinnamon help to add warm spice to this vegetable soup. You taste the mild sweet flavor of the sweet potato and the red pepper along with the smokiness of the spices. This has no cream but is thickened by the pureed vegetables themselves to create a smooth base. As a result, it’s a hearty soup perfect for lunch or dinnertime. I love to top mine with a big dollop of plain, Greek yogurt to temper the spices but it can be enjoyed on its own.
What are Moroccan Spices?
We live in an era where the spices and flavors of the world are more accessible than ever. On top of that there are more people sharing recipes online and on social media than ever. So it’s no wonder that we are cooking world inspired meals and searching out recipes that encompass a countries flavors and aromas. So what are traditional Moroccan spices? According to travel-exploration.com, the 10 most widely used spices are:
- Cayenne
- Turmeric
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Black pepper
- Anise seed
- Sesame seeds
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Saffron
But the king of spice blends is Ras el Hanout which is considered the “top shelf” of the spice shop. This complex blend can contain up to two dozen ingredients and a must for some Moroccan dishes. For this soup we could have used this wonderful blend, but we wanted to ensure this recipe to be easy and accessible for all.
How to make Spiced Sweet Potato and Spinach Soup
This is an easy recipe. It comes together with pantry staples and readily available grocery store items. What’s good to have on hand is an immersion blender, but a regular blender works well here too. This recipe works for stove top, slow cooker and pressure cook (Instant pot) and directions for all are on the recipe card below.
What to serve with Spiced Sweet Potato and Spinach soup
I love to serve this topped with a little Plain Greek yogurt, some cilantro/coriander leaves. The soup is tempered and balanced with the yogurt so I greatly encourage topping the soup with it. If you like extra spice, spoon some Harissa on top. I think this has enough heat however, you can certainly add more heat to taste. For a real treat, you can make traditional bread or Khobz to enjoy with this soup. For another excellent soup with sweet potato, try my Roasted Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup.
Enjoy!
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Spiced Sweet Potato and Spinach Soup
Equipment
- 8 quart soup pot or dutch oven
- Blender
- Immersion blender (optional)
- Pressure cooker (optional)
- Slow cooker (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato peeled, and cubed (1 inch cubes)
- 1/2 large onion sweet or white, chopped
- 1 whole red bell pepper, fresh seeded and chopped
- 1 large carrot or 2-3 small carrots peeled, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 4 whole garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 4 cups broth vegetable or chicken
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes crushed
- 1/2 tsp paprika sweet, ground
- 1 5oz pkg spinach, baby fresh (for frozen spinach, see note)
- Plain Greek yogurt for garnish
- Cilantro/Coriandor leaves for garnish
Instructions
Stove top
- Place all ingredients except for Spinach in a dutch oven or soup pot.
- Bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender.
- Remove from heat.
- With a slotted spoon, remove half of the vegetables and set aside.
- If using an immersion blender, blend the remaining vegetables and broth with the blender until creamy and smooth. If using a standard blender, ensure the blender jar is heat safe. Carefully add the mixture with vegetables about 1/2 full and blend until smooth. Work in batches if you need to. Return to pan when completely pureed.
- Once blended, add the vegetables back into the pot and add spinach, stir until wilted. If using frozen spinach, add and heat through about 5 minutes.
- Top with Greek yogurt to taste and Cilantro/Coriander leaves and serve.
Pressure cooker
- Place all ingredients in pressure cooker, except frozen spinach.
- Cook on high for 7 minutes on meat/stew setting. Allow 5 minutes for natural release and then vent excess steam and open lid.
- With a slotted spoon, remove half of the cooked vegetables, place in bowl and set aside.
- If using an immersion blender, blend the remaining vegetables and broth with the blender until creamy and smooth. If using a standard blender, ensure the blender jar is heat safe. Carefully add the mixture with vegetables about 1/2 full and blend until smooth. Work in batches is you need to. Return to pot when completely pureed.
- Once blended, add the vegetables that were removed and add spinach, stir until wilted. If using frozen spinach, add and heat through about 5 minutes.
- Top with Greek yogurt to taste and Cilantro/Coriander leaves and serve.
Slow cooker
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker, except fresh spinach.
- Cook for 4-6 hours on low.
- With a slotted spoon, remove half of the cooked vegetables, place in bowl and set aside
- If using an immersion blender, blend the remaining vegetables and broth with the blender until creamy and smooth. If using a standard blender, ensure the blender jar is heat safe. Carefully add the mixture with vegetables about 1/2 full and blend until smooth. Work in batches is you need to. Return to slow cooker when completely pureed.
- Once blended, add the vegetables that were removed and add spinach, stir until wilted. If using frozen spinach, add and heat through about 5 minutes.
- Top with Greek yogurt to taste and Cilantro/Coriander leaves and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated online and should be used as a guide.
All content and photographs ©Claudia’s Table and claudiastable.com
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