Warm and Spicy Anti-inflammatory Soup

18/12/2022

This Warm and Spicy Anti-inflammatory Soup is a hearty and cozy meal filled with nutrient-dense ingredients and spices. Ginger, turmeric, garlic, carrots, and sweet potato… yammmmm.

One of the best parts of this recipe is that it comes together in one pot – you can literally just chopety chop some veggies and throw in some spices and let everything simmer into one delicious soup. Ps. The best experience is guaranteed when you enjoy this on a cold winter day when you need something warming and uplifting ☀️💛

This recipe is gluten-free, plant-based, and super simple to make 😊

The base of the soup

Vegetables

Both sweet potatoes and carrots contain a lot of beta-carotene, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are also in season right now which makes them delicious & inexpensive!! You can also use whatever veggies you like or have in your pantry! For example, try adding some potatoes, paprika, or tomatoes.

Ginger

Ginger adds a nice warm, slightly peppery, citrusy, and fresh flavor to the soup plus it’s filled with antioxidants. Perfect for the cold season ❄️

Garlic

Garlic is one of my faaavorite ingredients to cook with. Even with IBS, it’s still worth it heheh. It has great anti-inflammatory properties and ahh – garlic just makes everything taste GOOD.

Spices

I used black pepper, turmeric, paprika, curry paste, curry powder, and veggie stock powder. Turmeric is one of my favorite spices, thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The antioxidant-rich spice adds a beautiful bright yellow color and a warming, earthy flavor to any dish. It originates from South East Asia, where it has been used as an Ayurvedic medicine for centuries.

Turmeric is best absorbed when you enjoy it together with black pepper and healthy fats. Black peppercorns contain this active compound called piperine, which can enhance the absorption of turmeric by up to 2000% (source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535097/).

Turmeric is fat-soluble, which means that it dissolves in fat. Almond butter and olive oil a.k.a our healthy fats will help the turmeric to slowly absorb into our body. (source: https://www.webmd.com/diet/health-benefits-turmeric)

Chili

I used a whole red chili with seeds on, but you can remove the seeds if you prefer a softer and creamier soup. If you don’t have fresh chilies laying around, you can substitute them with chili flakes or cayenne pepper.

Almond butter

I always go for almond butter, but peanut butter would also work perfectly fine! If you’re allergic to nuts, you can just leave it out and enjoy the soup without it. It’s going to taste great regardless ✨

Lime juice

Lime, lemon – either one works! The acidity balances the flavors and adds a good amount of vitamin C to the soup. And also – the scent of freshly cut citrus fruit never fails to make me feel happy ☀️🍋

Soy sauce

I love using soy sauce instead of salt since it adds a nice umaminess. Feel free to use regular salt if you don’t have soy sauce.

Coconut milk or plant-based cooking cream

I’ve made this soup using oat-based cooking cream and coconut milk, and they both work great. I would still go with coconut milk since it perfectly complements the spices I used in this soup.

Olive oil

Olive oil is my ride or die but you can use any oil you have!

WARM AND SPICY ANTI-INFLAMMATORY SOUP RECIPE

Cooking time 40 min

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 sweet potato
4-5 carrots
5 dl or 2 cups water
1 can of coconut milk (4 dl or 1,7 cups of plant-based cooking cream works great too!)
3 cloves garlic
A chunk of fresh ginger
1 red chili
1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder (can be substituted with 1 dl or ¼ cup veggie stock)
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 (generous) tablespoon almond butter
2 teaspoons curry powder
1,5 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Juice of 1 lime
Soy sauce to taste
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

Peel the veggies and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Mince your garlic, ginger, and red chili. Add olive oil to a large saucepan and sauté the garlic for a couple of minutes over low-medium heat. Add curry paste together with the spices and continue sautéing for a couple more minutes. Add veggies & water and let everything simmer over medium heat until the vegetables have softened (~ 25-30 minutes).
Add coconut milk and cook for a couple more minutes. Take the pan off the heat and blend everything together with an immersion blender. Squeeze in the lime juice and add soy sauce and almond butter. Check the taste and add more soy sauce if needed.
Serve with coconut yogurt and crushed almonds ☀️ If you want to make your soup more filling, you can add roasted chickpeas or pan-fried tofu on top! I will leave a super simple recipe for turmeric-spiced tofu down below –>

Crispy Turmeric Tofu

1 block tofu (firm or extra firm)
olive oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon curry powder
salt and black pepper to taste

Press the tofu and use your hands to shred it into bite-sized pieces. Heat up your pan and add a good drizzle of olive oil. Fry tofu until it becomes nice and golden. Add seasonings and stir. Serve on top of the soup ☀️