Making Red Pepper and Sweet Potato Soup with Chris Horrocks!

Our lovely local volunteer, Chris Horrocks is back once again and joins us in our latest video and shows us how to make a delicious red pepper and sweet potato soup as part of our #SussYourFood campaign. This soup would make a wonderful starter for your Christmas Dinner or equally work perfectly as a little winter warmer for your lunch. Chris gives us lots of hints and tips on how to prepare vegetables with minimal waste too! If you’d like to learn how to chop up onions, sweet potato, peppers and garlic with as little waste as possible, and how to batch cook a yummy soup then this is the recipe for you.

Give it a go and tag us in your tasty results using @sustainablekirrie or use the hashtag #SustainableKirrie!

We sourced all of our ingredients for making this soup from A Longer Table, the plastic-free grocery shop in the town centre of Kirriemuir. We cannot recommend them enough! Check them out here.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb of sweet potato peeled and chopped
  • 2 large red peppers cut into 4 each with cores removed
  • 1 onion peeled and chopped
  • 1 large clove of garlic peeled and crushed
  • 1 litre or 1 and a half pints of vegetable stock and water
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • Parsley (optional)
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Paprika
  • 1 to 2 tsp of lemon juice

Method

1) Add the sweet potato and red pepper to a baking tray and brush lightly with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
2) Roast in the oven for 20-30 mins at 160 degrees Celsius, whilst you are cooking something else. They are cooked when they are soft and slightly browned.
3) They can be kept in a covered bowl in the fridge for a day or two, until you are ready to make your soup.
4) Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a sauce pan and gently fry the onion until they are clear.
5) Add the garlic.
6) Remove the very skin thin from your peppers and cut the peppers and sweet potato up.
7) Add the veg to the onion and garlic in the pan, add the water, veg stock and herbs, bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
8) Remove the sprig of thyme and blend the soup until smooth.
9) Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and paprika.
10) Enjoy with a tasty slice of buttered crusty bread!

Chris’ Tips and Tricks!

  • Soak your onions in water before attempting to peel them; it makes it much easier!
  • Wash the pips out of your cut peppers.
  • Use a sharp knife to cut up your sweet potatoes.
  • When cutting, make a bridge with your hand to avoid cuts.
  • You can make your own bouquet garni by picking fresh herbs from your garden and tying them together with a piece of string. Remember to remove it before you blend your soup!
  • You can make your own homemade veg stock using offcuts from other vegetables and herbs. Cook it in water slowly on a low heat for as long as you can, then sieve out the pieces and add the flavour-some veg stock (the watery part!) to your next soup creation.
  • Save vegetable scraps for making homemade stock over time in a little bag in your freezer.
  • Add lemon to your soup before salt; you’d be surprised how much it brings out the taste on its own and this will help reduce your salt intake.
  • Add some paprika or any other herb or seasoning you enjoy to create an extra tasty dimension to your soup!
  • Blending your soup “hides” the vegetables and may encourage little humans to eat and enjoy your soup, oblivious to its healthy, nutritious contents!
  • Best enjoyed with a nice piece of buttered crusty bread, maybe saved from waste from the Community Fridge at Kirriemuir Food Hub!

#SustainableKirrie #ValueResources #LoveFoodHateWaste #LetsDoNetZero #FoodWaste #SussYourFood #ClimateChallengeFund

A BIG thank you to Chris for being so kind and helping us to make cooking videos! We really appreciate it and we love working with you!

Red Pepper and Sweet Potato Soup