Herby Sweet Potato Soup With Peanuts Recipe (2024)

I read these comments as I sit eating a bowl of ghee fried apples, basking in the sweetness of everyone’s experiences and the goodwill it takes to leave a positive comment. These comments are a daily stress reducer.

Aside from substituting butternut squash for the sweet potato, I followed the recipe to the letter. OMG!! My hubs said it was the “best thing I ever made” and it’s all he ever wants to eat— high praise indeed! I used a pastry cutter to chop up the squash a little, next time (and there WILL be a next time!) I’ll cut cut the squash into smaller pieces. Really amazing—I’m considering making it the first course for our T-Day dinner.

Incomprehensible to me that a veteran chef calls for bulghar to be ready in texture at the same time as ANYTHING, let alone sweet potato, that may lose flavor fall and fall apart. Veteran soup maker here advises: If texture of bulghar (or orzo or….) matters, cook it separately and add it, warm, at the end.

Made a few substitutions just because of what I had on hand (cashews instead of peanuts, omitted 5 spice as I didn’t have it, herbs were reduced to just parsley as it was all that was in the garden) and also substituted quinoa for bulgur to make it gluten free. Very yummy. Will try it without substituting anything except the bulgur next time.

What would you consider a medium sweet potato? The ones in the grocery are enormous. How much do we think a medium sweet potato weighs?

I left the skins on, personal choice. Reduced the liquid by a half cup to get more of a stew result. Absolutely LOVED this dish and so thankful for it being shared. My kitchen smells warm and vibrant at the same time with the blend of all the flavors in this soup. This will be a go to comfort food all winter.

Do NOT buy pine nuts from Asia, particularly China -- pine nut gatherers / poachers are stripping the forests (as well as trampling them), leaving them barren. The result: wildlife that depend on pine nuts to survive winter are starving and, in some cases, becoming endangered. Buy US or Italian pine nuts. Yes, more expensive, but you'll be doing a good thing for wildlife and maintaining planet health / biodiversity. And pine nuts from Asia have a gross lingering metallic taste.

After skiimming the recipe in the morning, this soup recipe dogged me through a busy afternoon. I arrived home six hours later, cold, wet, and extremely hungry, so I set to work. Completely forgot about the bulgar. Used a dollop of frozen pesto instead of fresh herbs. No lemon or red pepper flakes bc of acid reflex flare up. Ate two bowls alone, listening to the rain pelt the sidewalk. Will make it again this week with the bulgar bc I'm still thinking of it. Delicious.

This was wonderful! I made it with farro, half the salt and no dill; otherwise stuck to the recipe and was very happy with the result. It has a lovely, complex blend of flavors and the comfort of a good fall stew. I highly recommend!

Nice soup! We used pistachio, pecan, and almond mix instead of peanuts. This worked great. The greens, red pepper and lemon are absolutely essential

I feel like carrots might be a better substitute than white potatoes, because carrots have a similar sweetness to sweet potatoes. How do you feel about carrots?

Made this tonight for dinner (which I ate with my husband and adult daughter, so I would argue that it's great to eat with others, not just by oneself!). Only change I made was to substitute Ras el Hanout for the five spice powder, which I didn't have. Next time I think I will cut back the olive oil to a total of 4-5 tablespoons because I found it a bit too oily. Otherwise, it was delicious -- a perfect soup for a cold rainy evening!

T Joe's sells quick-cooking farro (10 mins). Regular farro would take longer than bulgur. My pkg of "whole grain bulgur wheat" has instructions to cook for 10 mins, then cover and rest 5. Prof. Google says bulgur has been pre-cooked (parboiled), so perhaps (responding now to DemostiX) the recipe's timing is Not off with respect to bulgur & sweet potatoes. Maybe you were thinking of cracked wheat, which has not been pre-cooked? Other notes would indicate the recipe works well as written.

If I need to prepare gluten free pasta separately, do I omit the 4 1/2 cups water and use only broth in making the soup?

Made substitutions due to what I had available (pesto oil for herbs, farro for bulgur, chili oil w peanuts for topping) and this was magical. Would definitely try again with or without substitutions.

I couldn’t eat this until I added sour cream - it just felt like things didn’t meld together.

Made this mostly as written maybe with different quantities. I had a tube of cilantro and just squeezed what I thought would be equivalent , a few bits of live parsley and a few shakes of dried dill so maybe not exactly as written. Dumped in 4 cups(32 oz )broth because that was what my container had and so only used 2 cups of water. Loved it. The bulgur expanded so was more of a stew. The peanuts absolutely make the recipe. May leave off the chili flakes for personal preference.

I have made this twice now. I really like it. It's simple and pretty quick. If you find yourself rich in sweet potatoes, it's a nice way to use them up. The bulgar/sweet potato base is mild in flavor and I had to add a bit more salt, and sometimes I riff on the spices (but don't skip the Chinese Five Spice!), but once you add all the herbs and lemon and the garlic chili peanut topping, it brings it home.

Orzo absorbed all the liquid in leftovers. Yummy though. Double recipe makes an insane amount.

This recipe finally and belatedly decides it for me: Ottolenghi is a genius. His recipes are delicious with surprising ingredients, and doable for us commoners. I am grateful for this chef and recipe writer.

This soup was lovely. The peanut topping was perfect. Great to have another great vegan recipe to make.

Turned out more like a rice dish than a soup, it's very filling but no complaints about that or the flavors!

Delicious. I made it with butternut squash. Will make again!

Great flavors- lemon juice is a must. If using quinoa instead of bulgur, I recommend reducing the amount of quinoa. I substituted it 1:1 and ended up with a very thick stew. 1/4 to 1/2 cup of quinoa would have worked better.

One of the most flavorful no meat recipes I've had in a while. Big win for relatively low effort.

I made this last night & it was delicious. On the easier side, as far as Ottolenghi recipes go, and I was delighted when my soup looked exactly like the photo. That never happens! It's a very pretty soup. The quantity is pretty good--I doubled the recipe and really didn't need to. I didn't have five spice so I substituted with garam masala and a bit of anise; next time I'll prep better. Used farro instead of bulgur, too. Works fine with veggie broth.

Add carrot. Used short grain brown rice instead of barley. 1 c barley to 3 cups water. So subtract 3 cups water from recipe as brown rice is made separately.

Wow, great flavors! I made a few subs due to what was on hand: 2 leeks instead of onion, more cilantro, less parsley, 2 tsp dry dill instead of fresh, quinoa (already cooked, put in when potatoes were almost cooked) instead of bulgur. I think I'll cut the sweet potatoes a little smaller next time

Can I leave the leftover peanut topping out at room temp for a few days? I am not sure how to store the leftover topping!

Ian and Justine's "best soup ever". And they are critics as well as cooks.