Gypsy Soup

This soup is sweet and spicy with a middle-Eastern vibe owing to the chick peas, peppers and tumeric. Strong flavours are the sweet potato, tumeric, paprika, basil and chick peas. Just use the best stock possible and you can't go wrong. This is my favorite soup by far.

Ingredients

Nothing terribly strange - should be able to get everything at any halfway decent supermarket.

• 1 litre of good vegetable stock
• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 cups (or 1 can) cooked chickpeas
• 1 can chopped/crushed tomatoes
• 1 red capsicum - the sweeter the better
• 1 large brown onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• a stick of fresh celery
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 large bay leaves
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of cayenne pepper flakes (or a few drops of hot sauce)

Plus: One heavy pot or dutch oven, a vege knife and a big mixing spoon.

Preparation

Chop the onion, peel & dice the sweet potato and celery and saute in the pot with a splash of olive oil on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Crush the garlic and stir in along with the salt. Cook for another 2 mins then take off the heat. You want the onions soft but not browned and the sweet potato bruised and softening so it'll take in the flavours that are up next.

Add everything except the stock, chickpeas, tomatoes and pepper.

Mix well then add all the stock. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Rinse the chickpeas, dice the sweet pepper and add to the pot with the tomatoes. That's everything. Simmer for another 10-15 mins or until it's as tender as you like. Serve now if starving or leave overnight to let the flavours meld further.