Soul- Warming Soup

Lately, I have gotten into the habit of welcoming Kirstie home for lunch with a bowl of freshly- made soup. It's usually a very simple lentil or bean soup made with some stock, a bit of veggies and a few spices. Nothing more than that. Sometimes though, I get the urge to be a little more creative, like today, when I suddenly remembered a bottle of tomato juice that had been lurking about in my pantry for some time, and I also decided to use the three boniatos I purchased over the weekend. What I want most at the this time of year are thick, comforting soups, the type that fill your tummy and warm your soul- and that is exactly what this creamy, velvety smooth soup did. I topped each bowl with a little crème fraîche and some chopped parsley. My blissfully happy moment of the day was sitting at the table with my gorgeous girl while eating that bowl of soup.

Here's the recipe:

Soul- Warming Soup
*3 ribs of celery
*2 big carrots
*1 onion
*3 cloves of garlic
*2 tbsps olive oil
*500g red lentils
*750ml tomato juice
*850ml vegetable or herb- flavored broth
*1 tsp mace
*2 tsps ground cumin
*1 tsp ground coriander
*1 tsp chili powder
*2 tsps brown sugar
*3 large boniato sweet potatoes, about 600g, cubed

Finely chop the celery, carrots, onion and garlic. I did this is the food processor. Heat the oil in a large pan and saute the veggies on a gentle fire for about 5 minutes. Add the lentils and stir well. Add the tomato juice, the stock and the spices and cook on a medium fire for about 15 minutes. Add the chopped boniatos and continue to cook for a further 45 minutes. Puree the soup and serve with crème fraîche and some chopped parsley.

Makes about 10 servings