Chorizo, Sweet Potato & Butterbean Soup with Feta & Thyme Toasts

The Summer has officially ended and the belly warming food season has begun! I thought I would kick things off with this deliciously warming soup.

This chunky soup (or stew if you like) is everything you could possibly want on a chilly Autumn night. Made mostly from store cupboard ingredients, it is simple, hearty, healthy, and full of flavour.

Chorizo and beans are made for each other, but by adding tomatoes, onions, and sweet potatoes as well as crispy feta toast to the dish, a mouth watering combination is created.

I love the addition of sweet potatoes in this soup. Their natural sweetness is a wonderful contrast to the somewhat spicy chorizo. Butternut squash would also be very good. For this recipe, I like to roast the sweet potatoes first and add them to the soup near the end. This way they don't break into a soggy mush. This may be OK for some recipes but here, the soup is already quite thick. You can even throw in some greens if you like. Maybe some Swiss chard or kale would be good?

Either way this soup is not to be ignored. So, get your comfy's on, pour yourself a glass of wine and get ready for some belly warming yumminess!

Serves 4

For the soup:

150g dry-cured Spanish chorizo, skinned and roughly chopped
1 14 oz can butter beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
60ml white wine
400ml chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
1 onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbls tomato paste
2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 tsp sugar

For the feta and thyme toasts:



4-6 slices of ciabatta or french baguette about 1/2 inch thick
4 heaped tbls crumbled feta cheese
2 tbls olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375F

Scrub sweet potatoes. (No need to peel). Cut into 1-2cm chunks and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and roast for 20 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 15 minutes or until crisp and browned.

Heat 1 tbls olive oil in a large pan and fry chorizo until it starts to crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside onto a paper towel. Add onion to the pan and cook until just softened. Add the garlic and paprika and cook for a further 30 seconds or so. Add chorizo back to the pan followed by the white wine, scraping up any crispy bits . Once the wine has evaporated add the stock, tomato paste, tomatoes and sugar. Season and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Add butter beans and cook for a further 5- 10 minutes. Stir in the roasted sweet potatoes and serve.

About 10 minutes before the soup is completed, prepare the feta and thyme toasts. Mix together the olive oil, feta, garlic and thyme until creamy. Spread equal amounts onto each slice of bread. Place under a preheated grill or broiler for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and golden. Serve with the soup.