Meatless Monday: Saffron Sweet Potato & Rainbow Quinoa Soup
By Claire Georgiou, Reboot Naturopath, B.HSc ND
Spice up your dinner tonight with saffron. It is the most expensive spice in the world as each stigma needs to be hand-picked from every flower, it is used in cuisine for its light flavor and golden yellow color, and it has a long medicinal history as part of traditional healing. Studies indicate its benefit for cancer-suppression and prevention, immune-modulating, and antioxidant properties.
Ingredients
- 6 cups (1.5 L) of vegetable stock
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 brown onion
- 1 purple sweet potato (any sweet potato will work)
- 1 orange sweet potato (any sweet potato will work)
- ¼ butternut squash (pumpkin)
- 1 carrot
- 1 zucchini
- 1 tsp sea salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large pinch of saffron
- 1 cup (128 g) of rainbow quinoa
Directions
- Simmer the vegetable stock in a pot.
- Chopped onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrot & zucchini.
- Add all vegetables to the simmering stock.
- Add quinoa, salt, pepper and saffron.
- Simmer 20-30mins or until the vegetables are cooked.
- Garnish with a dollop of coconut cream and sprinkle with chopped parsley and coriander (cilantro) leaves.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Substitutions
- Sweet potato – parsnip, turnip, winter squash, butternut squash
- Carrot – parsnip, turnip
- Zucchini – celery, celeriac root
- Butternut Squash – pumpkin, turnip, parsnip, winter squash,
- Quinoa – red lentils, split peas, wild rice
Calories: 170
Fat: 1g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 260mg
Carbohydrates: 37g
Fiber: 6g
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 4g