Sweet and Spicy Soup with Black-Eyed Peas and Sweet Potato Recipe

Directions

Set oven to broil. Brush red bell pepper lightly with olive oil, and place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Place sheet under broiler, and broil until pepper is blackened and blistered. Remove from broiler, and when cool enough to touch, peel skin. Chop pepper into bite-size pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, celery, and garlic; cook until onion is soft and translucent.
Mix in water, vegetable broth, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, and chopped bell pepper. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Add bay leaf, thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary. Mix in garlic, onion, and mustard powders. Stir in cumin and coriander.
Bring contents to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, covered, until sweet potatoes begin to disintegrate, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and cracked pepper to taste. Stir in fresh parsley, and serve.

Reviews (42)

Big Rey

Jul. 31, 2006

"This is a very flavorful, serviceable weeknight soup. For those who think it a bit odd, a similar, sweet potato-tomato soup is very popular in parts of the Carribean. Relying on that experience, I mad..." See moree a few changes in the ingredients and method of preparation. Agreeing with prior reviews, I reduced the cinnamon to 1/2 tsp. because it's naturally assertive, eliminated the oregano, basil and rosemary, since it didn't fit the flavor profile and used canned stewed tomatoes. The powdered onion went, too, since there was plenty of fresh. I used minced, seeded, habanero chile in place of the cayenne and crushed red pepper, because it's flavor works well with the other ingredients. I sauteed the spices with the onion, celery and minced garlic,which I doubled. To reduce the sweetness and highlight the sweet potato's natural flavor a bit more, I made sure not to buy "candied" sweet potato. I used bottled roasted pepper, since I had some left over from another dish. I also eliminated the water and used two cups of low sodium broth. Everything was partially hand blended at the end, before adding leftover, shredded roast chicken in the last five minutes of cooking, for a protein boost. Tasty in front of the TV!"

MINDCRUSHER1376

Oct. 9, 2005

"My husband has declared this "the best stew". I used fresh black eyed peas and a fresh sweet potato. Since I used fresh veggies I had to increase the veg broth to 3 cups and I was also more generous w..." See moreith the sugar and spices. I also increased the cooking time to about 40 minutes. This was very hearty and easy to make."

BROOKSIE1920

Sep. 7, 2005

"This was awesome! I did make a few changes:Instead of roasting red pepper, I cut red, yellow and green peppers into chunks and sauteed then with the onions I substituted 1 can of stewed tomatoes for t..." See morehe plum tomatoes. I added 1 large minced thai chili pepper instead of cayenne. I added a little bit more cumin than a pinch (probably 1/4- 1/2 tsp). I simmered it for an hour to really bring out the flavors. I blended it with a hand blender for about 5 seconds just to make the broth a little thicker. I also sprinkled it with asiago before serving. Definitely a good recipe! This would probably make a yummy crock pot soup!"

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