‘Soup for Syria’ Sharing Menu
Spicy Sweet Potato Soup
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Black Bean and Chipotle Chowder
Nut and Seed Bread
Cracker assortment
Chocolate-covered almonds
This soup is silky smooth with flavors of peanut, ginger and lime. It’s adapted from “Soup for Syria” by Barbara Abdeni Massaad. Makes 4 to 6 servings
1⁄2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 cups vegetable stock
1/3 cup smooth natural peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
Cilantro leaves for garnish
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 20 minutes. Total time: 30 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine yogurt and lime zest. Place in refrigerator and allow flavors to blend. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook about 2 minutes. Add cumin and chile flakes and stir, then cook another minute or until fragrant.
Add sweet potato cubes and stock; stir mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. Allow soup to cool about 10 minutes before blending. Blend soup using immersion or standard blender until smooth.
Wipe out saucepan and return soup to saucepan; reheat over medium-low heat. Whisk in peanut butter and lime juice. Season with salt to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with a dollop of lime yogurt and a few leaves of cilantro.
Per serving (figuring 4): 250 calories, 28g carbohydrate, 7g protein, 12.5g fat (3g saturated), 1,182mg sodium, 4.5g fiber.