A soul-warming Moroccan sweet potato lentil soup recipe. This soup is made in the slow cooker and requires hardly any work at all. Plus, it makes the whole house smell warm and cozy!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into small pieces
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 ½ cups green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 ½ teaspoon EACH coriander AND cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (or more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon EACH smoked paprika, ground cinnamon, AND turmeric
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6-7 cups low sodium broth (vegetable or chicken)
• 2 ½ cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup lemon juice or lemon wedges for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, red bell pepper, garlic, lentils, spices, and 6 cups of broth into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Check the lentils for doneness. If you’re lentils have been in the pantry for a while, note that they’ll take a bit longer to cook through.
2. Place half the soup into a blender along with a little additional broth (½ cup or so) and blend till smoothish. Alternately, you can use an immersion blender directly in the slow cooker but be sure to not blend all of the soup if you want it to have a chunkier texture. Add the puree back into the slow cooker. Stir in the baby spinach and lemon juice. Cover the slow cooker, unplug it, and allow the ingredients to just hang out for 30 minutes or so until the spinach wilts down.
3. Season with salt, pepper and curry powder to taste as desired. Thin with additional broth to desired consistency. Serve warm with whipped greek yogurt, fried pita bread, and tons of fresh herbs (parsley or cilantro) on top!