Day 222: East African Pea Soup ♥

Wow. What a great spiced and spicy soup. It's so simple, just sweet potato, frozen peas and pantry spices. Very Weight Watchers, just two PointsPlus. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".

~recipe & photo updated 2015~
~more recently updated recipes~

2005: Another fall and winter winner! Yippee! Another filling and satisfying soup for Weight Watchers! Double Yippee! The temptation comes from a now-defunct food blog called Full Bellies who advised a double batch. If only I'd listened! This is a definite keeper, one to make again soon to freeze for quick lunches over the busy holidays.

The ingredient list is long on spices and they are what makes this soup delicious – I can't imagine skipping a one. But spices are often half price before the holidays, making it a great time to both freshen up what's on hand and to try some new ones too.

2015: This spiced and spicy soup is a total lunch-saver. It makes up in minutes with little more than air plus a (slightly wizened) sweet potato or two and a bag of (freezer-burned) peas. It's excellent with a poached egg, here's How to Poach a Perfect Egg. If you like this spice combination, you'll also want to check out Moroccan Chicken and Spiced Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower Tagine. So compelling, these spices!

RECIPE for EAST AFRICAN PEA SOUP

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 40 minutes
Makes 7 cups

MIKE THE WATER (detailed instructions follow)
3 cups water

START THE ONION
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger

ADD THE SPICES
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Sprinkle cayenne or to taste

ADD THE VEGETABLES & LET SIMMER
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

ADD THE PEAS & SERVE
8 ounces frozen green peas

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS
Bring the water to a boil in the microwave. This is a time-saving technique that can be skipped if you're in no rush.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over MEDIUM HIGH. Add the olive oil, when it's hot, add the onion and stir to coat with the oil. Add the garlic and ginger and combine well. Sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes.

Add the spices and combine well. Let cook for about 1 minute.

Stir in the tomatoes, sweet potato and hot water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to MEDIUM, cover and let simmer until sweet potato is cooked, about 20 minutes. (Stop here if making ahead to serve later or to freeze.)

Add the peas and let cook for about 5 minutes. (Adding the peas now means they don't overcook.)

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
PURÉE or NOT? When I made this in 2005, I puréed the soup. For appearance's sake, however, I did set aside about a quarter of the frozen peas to add later and before using the immersion blender, pulled out some pieces of cooked sweet potato. After the soup was puréed, I added these back in for color and texture contrast. Since 2005, I've become a real fan of leaving vegetables as they cook, I love the color and texture and being able to identify what's in the soup bowl! Either way will work, it's your choice.

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION The recipe is adapted from the vegetarian cookbook Sundays at Moosewood where it's called East African Sweet Pea Soup. I own this cookbook but it's packed away in some box in some corner of the basement. Based on this soup, I'd best hunt it up!

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 106 Calories; 2g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 311mg Sodium; 20g Carb; 4g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 3g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: WW Old Points 1.5 & WW PointsPlus 3

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