Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple, and Red Lentil Soup

1/4 cup butter
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
4 cups vegetable broth
plain yogurt

1. Melt the butter in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Place the chopped sweet potatoes, carrots, apple, and onion in the pot. Stir and cook the apples and vegetables until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir the lentils, ginger, ground black pepper, salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika and vegetable broth into the pot with the apple and vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, tehn reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils and vegeables are soft, about 30 minutes.

3. Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender, filing the pitcher no more than half way full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick puses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.

4. Return the pureed soup to the cooking pot. Bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Add water as needed to thin the soup to your preferred consistency. Serve with yogurt for garnish.

Serving Size: Serving per recipe: 6

Number of Servings: 1

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user MUSIC3166.