Sweet Potato Stew

Adapted from “Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures” by Jeanne Lemlin

This time of year, I crave hearty soups and stews. I served this to a group of friends recently and several asked for the recipe. It has a healthy mix of vegetables, which gives it a lot of flavor. I use prepared vegetable broth that has salt in it. You may need to add salt if your broth does not contain salt.

Ingredients:

¼ cup olive oil (I use 2-3 TBSP)
3 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery ribs thinly sliced
6 cups vegetable broth/stock
28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 medium/large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch dice
1 carrot thinly sliced
¼ tsp nutmeg
dash of cayenne
generous seasoning of fresh ground pepper
5 ounces (5 cups lightly packed) fresh spinach, kale or Swiss chard torn into pieces

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic and celery and sauté, stirring often, for 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients except for the greens.
3. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 min or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
4. Use an immersion blender to blend it somewhat, still leaving chunky pieces (or remove 2 cups of soup, puree, then return to pot).
5. Stir in the spinach, kale or swiss chard and cook about 5 more minutes, until the greens are tender.