Spicy apple, fennel and sweet potato soup
Serves 4
Based on a recipe in The Gate Vegetarian Cookbook by Adrian and Michael Daniel
2 tablespoons olive oil, canola oil or cooking spray
4 cardamom pods, crushed
2 teaspoons each of ground turmeric, cinnamon and cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablepoon mustard seeds
1 large or two medium onions, finely chopped
A large chunk of fresh ginger, grated or finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli, left whole
1 fennel bulb, sliced
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1.25 litres (2 pints) vegetable stock
3 eating apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Salt and pepper
Pinch of brown sugar
A handful of coriander leaves, chopped
Lemon juice
Yoghurt or hummus, to serve (optional)
Heat the oil or cooking spray in a large stock pot. Stir-fry all the spices until they are fragrant (be careful not to let them burn). If they start sticking, add some water. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and whole chilli and stir-fry until softened.
You can chop up the chilli finely as a permanent addition to the soup if you like - but I left it whole so it would infuse the broth with heat, but I took it out at the end so it wouldn't be too hot for my husband whose chilli threshold isn't as high as mine!
Add the chopped vegetables and stir to coat in the spices. Cook for a few minutes and then add the stock, bring to the boil then simmer gently for 30 minutes, until everything is tender. Halfway through that cooking time, add the apples. I used Cameo apples for this recipe, which are grown in Kent and now in season.
Remove the chilli (see point above). Using a stick blender, puree the contents of the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I found it needed a bit of salt) and a tiny bit of brown sugar to bring out the sweetness of the vegetables. Stir in the chopped coriander.
Serve with a swirl of yoghurt or hummus and a squeeze of lemon juice. You might think hummus is a weird thing to put on top of a soup, but the nutty chickpea flavour and the creamy texture went very well with the spices and the sweetness of the apple. Any leftover soup makes a really nice base for a chickpea curry too.
It makes for good eating when it looks like this outside!
