"Stoup" as coined by Rachael Ray is a way of saying that this dish has the warmth and comfort of a soup while being super hearty and is filling like a stew! As soon as temperatures fall under 60 degrees, I forget about all my raw salads and opt for some warm soups, stoups and chilis! The quinoa makes the stoup very thick and hefty but feel free to add more water and thin it out if you prefer. Also, feel free to play around with any measurements and add or take out any vegetables!
One Pot Quinoa Sweet Potato Stoup
1/2 yellow onion
2 carrots
3 celery
1/4 fennel bulb
1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
1 box (4 cups) low or no sodium added vegetable broth
1 cup quinoa
3 cups water
2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can, drained)
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Chop all vegetables into chunks. Saute in a stockpot in 2-3 tbsp organic canola or avocado oil until soft. (I didn't want the overpowering flavor of olive oil in this dish but feel free to use olive oil if you like). Add vegetable broth, water, bay leaf and quinoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Once quinoa is plumped up and cooked, add black beans and continue to simmer until all vegetables are soft and soup is flavorful. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Just for fun, I added some crunchy sweet potato fries to the top. To do this simply, peel and slice your sweet potato, brush with olive oil and salt. Bake in the oven on 400 about 40 minutes, until soft on the inside but crunchy on the outside (I love those black bits!)