Curried Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

          This soup is my ideal kind of recipe.  So richly luxurious in taste and texture, but in actuality made from frightfully healthful substances.  Tasting as if it had simmered for hours, yet quick and easy to make on the spur of the moment, from seemingly mundane ingredients that always inhabit my cupboards.  Fantastic when first cooked, but just as delicious, if not more so, upon sitting in the refrigerator, reheated the next day or the day after for multiple meals.  This is the sort of recipe that I make on a weekly basis, and continue to do so happily without ever tiring of the result.

          I suppose I could continue further, describing this soup at greater length and in evocative detail.  But that first paragraph says it all, really.  A perfect soup in every way possible, adapted from a recipe originally provided by Robin Robertson.  It instantaneously has become one of my most favorite quick, delicious, and healthful meals, ranking right up there with Spaghetti with Harissa, Spinach, and Olives and with Vegetable and Chickpea Curry, among a few select others.  Paulo agrees completely.  He is thrilled that something so luscious can be consumed as often as desired, without one twinge of guilt.  Now that, dear readers, is a darn good meal.

Curried Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

1 T oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed

28 oz can diced or crushed tomatoes, with juice

10 oz can tomatoes with green chiles, with juice

2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1″ chunks

6 cups vegetable broth (or water)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

2 T curry powder

1 cup corn kernels (optional)

1/2 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

          Heat the oil in a large soup pot and saute the onion and garlic until translucent, a few minutes.  Add both cans of tomatoes, the sweet potatoes, and the broth, along with 1 tsp salt.  Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and cover.  Simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, approximately 15 minutes.  Stir in the peanut butter and curry powder until the peanut butter has melted.

          Blend the soup with an immersion blender (or regular blender) until the soup is pureed to creaminess.  Season with pepper, and with more salt, if needed.  Stir in the corn and heat through.  Serve topped with the peanuts.