Red pepper and sweet potato soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

2 peppers, deseeded and sliced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ltr vegetable stock

Pinch chilli powder

1 tsp cumin

Handful of basil leaves, chopped (keep a few leaves whole for serving)

Method:

Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened.

Add the sweet potato, peppers, carrots, stock, chilli powder, cumin and basil. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Using a hand blender, blend until smooth

Season with black pepper to taste and serve garnished with fresh basil

Peppers contain capsaicin which helps lower “bad’ cholesterol, reduce inflammation and help with the control of diabetes.