Sweet Tomato + Black Bean Tortilla Bowls

Excitingly, my first book, A Modern Way to Eat, has recently been published in Brazil. It’s impossibly exciting to think that what began life in notebooks at my kitchen table in East London has now been translated into several languages and is available all over the world. It makes me so happy to think of the number of kitchens my books have found their way into. Thank you to each and every single person who has bought one, wherever you are.

To celebrate, I’m sharing a sunny recipe that is as good for breakfast as it is dinner. It’s a  soupy-stew that’s great on its own, but taken to the next level when you top it with popping roasted tomatoes, buttery avocado and even a perfectly poached egg. A serious serious team of flavours in a bowl.

SERVES 4

1 medium sweet potato, washed and chopped into little pieces
20 cherry tomatoes, halved
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive or rapeseed oil
a bunch of spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
750ml hot vegetable stock
1 × 400g tin of black beans, drained
6 corn tortillas
optional: a few organic or free-range eggs, for poaching
optional: 1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks
a small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked

Preheat your oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6.

Place the sweet potatoes on one side of a baking tray and the halved cherry tomatoes on the other, then sprinkle the whole lot with a good amount of salt and pepper, drizzle with a little oil and roast for 20–25 minutes.

Heat a little oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the spring onions and garlic and sizzle for a few minutes, until the garlic has just started to brown, then add all the spices and stir round a couple of times. Add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, until all the flavours have come together.

Add the stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for another 5 minutes.

I like to blitz the broth now, but feel free to skip this if you like it with more texture. After simmering, add the beans.

By now the tomatoes and sweet potatoes should be roasted. Take the tray out of the oven and add the sweet potatoes to the broth, then keep it ticking over on a low heat. Set the roasted tomatoes aside – they will go in later.

Cut the tortillas into 0.5cm wide strips and put them on another baking tray. Season with a little salt, drizzle over some oil, toss to coat and bake in the oven for 4–5 minutes until crisp and lightly golden.

I like to serve poached eggs on top of my soup, so if you like the idea poach 1 egg per person.

Once the tortilla strips are golden, take them out of the oven. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with the roasted tomatoes and crunchy tortilla strips, a poached egg, some chopped avocado, if you like, and a scattering of coriander.

Image: Brian W Ferry
Recipe originally in: A Modern Way to Eat