African Bean Soup

Well, I hate to break the news, but yes, it’s supposed to snow again. So here’s a great simple recipe that you can call nutritious comfort food to keep you warm and cozy. We’re so glad to be able to share this with you, as all of us at Lady Docs would like to apologize for our recent technical difficulties – it seems that some of you have received some of our posts 3 times while others (like me) have not received them at all. As of today, we have changed to a different server and hope that it will be smooth sailing from here on.

Now, on to this delicious soup from www.pcrm.org, Recipe of the Week – January 2014. “Sweet potatoes and peanuts are familiar ingredients in many African cuisines. In this colorful soup they are combined with garbanzo beans and other vegetables and served over cooked rice.” You can increase the garbanzo beans and peanut butter to provide enough protein for a whole meal. It is very filling and tasty.

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 onion, sliced
2 small sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth (see recipe) or water
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons peanut butter (would try to increase, as the taste doesn’t come through)
1-2 teaspoons curry powder (I prefer 1 tsp of cumin and 1 tsp coriander)
4 cups cooked brown rice

Directions:

1. Heat water and soy sauce in a large pot. Add onion and sweet potatoes or yams and cook over high heat, stirring often, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add carrot, celery, and bell pepper. Cover and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add tomatoes, broth or water, beans and their liquid, cilantro, peanut butter, and curry powder. Stir to mix, then cover and simmer until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.

Per serving: 279 calories; 5.6 g fat; 1 g saturated fat; 18% calories from fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 10.5 g protein; 48.9 g carbohydrates; 6.2 g sugar; 9 g fiber; 472 mg sodium; 80 mg calcium; 3.3 mg iron; 35.7 mg vitamin C; 3,251 mcg beta-carotene; 1.8 mg vitamin E

Source: Healthy Eating for Life for Women by Kristine Kieswer; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.