African Chickpea Soup

This is a hearty, healthy recipe and if you like the tastes of India you will love this soup. It is very spicy!  It calls for 1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper but next time I think I'll cut it to 1/4 teaspoon but if you like hot you might want to leave it the way it is.  This is a very different soup from what most Americans eat but I really did like it and I will make it again.  Also, I used kale because I didn't want to go to the store for mustard greens and it was good but I can see where the greens might give it a little different flavor which would still be wonderful too.

This soup will make 6 to 8 servings.

2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon round coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
pinch of turmeric
4 cups sweet potato broth
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 bunch fresh mustard greens, chopped
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
garnish: red pepper flakes

Saute garlic in hot oil in a large saucepan over medium heat 1 minute, add 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes and next 4 ingredients.  Cook 1 to 2 more minutes or until fragrant.  Stir in sweet potato broth, coconut milk and greens.  Bring to a gentle boil add chickpeas.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer about 1 1/2 hours or until greens are soft.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sweet Potato Broth

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add 1 medium onion, sliced, 3 ribs of celery, chopped and 1 carrot, chopped,  Cook stirring often 8 to 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Add 1 peeled and quartered large sweet potato, 5 whole cloves, desired amount of salt and freshly ground pepper and 6 cups of water.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 30-35 minutes or until sweet potato is tender.  Discard cloves.  Let mixture stand for 15 minutes.  Process in batches in the blender or food processor until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper if needed.  Use immediately or cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container up to 5 days.
You can freeze cooked and cooled mixture up to 2 months.