Ranui Community Garden Mexican Spiced Kumara Soup

Recipe from Food@Home, by Christine Dann, Canterbury University Press, 2012

More from-the-garden recipes (and organic gardening advice) on Christine's blog, The Eco Gardener.

Ingredients

Soup

• 2 Tbsp butter or oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 1 kg kumara, peeled and sliced
• 1 litre water
• ½ tsp salt
• 200 ml cream OR creamy plain yoghurt

Salsa garnish

• 1 avocado, mashed
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed
• juice of 1 lime
• a few corn chips

Method

Gently fry the onion in the butter or oil until soft and golden.

Add the cumin, turmeric and chilli powder and fry gently, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.

Add the sliced kumara and roll in the spice mix.

Add the water, mix well, bring the soup to a simmer.

Simmer 20 minutes, or until the kumara is soft; turn off the heat.

Make a salsa by mixing the avocado, garlic and lime juice.

Mash the kumara in the soup (or puree the soup).

Add salt to the soup, then the cream or yoghurt, mix well and taste.

Reheat the soup gently.

Serve in bowls garnished with the avocado salsa and some corn chips.

Keith Stewart’s wine recommendation

Greywacke 2010 Wild Sauvignon

Pukeora Estate 2010 Ruahine Range Chardonnay