Vegetarian Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup with Lime

Directions

Heat olive oil in heavy soup pot, add diced onion and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, or until onions are just starting to brown. Add minced garlic, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground fennel and fresh-ground black pepper and saute 1-2 minutes more, or until spices are becoming fragrant. While onions are cooking, peel and dice sweet potato and rinse beans until no more foam appears, then drain. After onions and spice mixture have been sauteed, add the diced sweet potatoes, black beans, and vegetable or chicken stock to the soup pot, along with salt to taste. Let soup simmer on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are falling-apart tender. When sweet potatoes are tender, use a slotted spoon to remove 3 cups of beans and sweet potatoes; then use an immersion blender or regular blender to puree the remaining soup. Add the reserved sweet potatoes and beans back into the soup and simmer about 15 minutes more. Taste to see if you want to add more salt; then add the lime juice and simmer about 5 minutes more. Serve hot, with a dollop of fat free Greek yogurt or light sour cream. If desired you can serve with lime wedges so people who want to can squeeze more lime juice into their soup.