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This brightly colored bowl really puts the potato back in sweet potato. Leaving the skin on the sweet potatoes here emphasizes their earthy quality over their sweetness, and spiking the pot with two chile powders adds a lovely warmth in the back. Nutritional yeast, a touch of garlic, and a bouillon cube add extra savory notes. To bump up the protein, plus add texture and visual interest, toss in a can of black beans at the end. (And to bump up the protein even more, you'll puree in a can of chickpeas.)
In the end, you have a simple, comforting, portable (tip: store leftover soup in mason jars), everyday meal that contains a bunch of stuff that's good for you (and a ton of it, too). And the only thing you have to chop is a couple of sweet potatoes. How's that for everyday eats?
But if you want to take an extra minute to whip up a little coconut bacon to sprinkle on top while the soup cooks, no one would question you.
Dead Simple Warming Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup
serves 10-12
8 cups water
24-26 oz sweet potato (2 large), cubed
1 15-oz can chickpeas (or white beans), drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic
1 Not-Chick'n bouillon cube
1 tsp ancho powder, or other mild chile powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp fine sea or kosher salt
1 15-oz can black beans
Add all ingredients, except black beans, to a soup pot over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a strong simmer and let cook, covered, 25-30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, drain and rinse black beans in sieve. Set aside to let drain well.
When the potatoes are tender, remove pot from heat. Carefully puree the soup with an immersion blender until very smooth. Return pot to heat, add black beans, and heat until beans are warmed through. Adjust salt, if needed.