Even though the chill of winter has past, you may still have cravings for cosy and comforting dishesr, and in many cases, they can also be fruitful for our health. Instagram’s culinary sensation Gigi Grassia, better known as @gigi_goes_vegan, has unveiled a nutrient-rich recipe for an ‘immune-boosting’ sweet potato and carrot soup that promises to tantalise the taste buds.

The dish is a wholesome affair, combining soba noodles and tempeh with the soup itself, thus offering eaters a hearty meal, reports Surrey Live. However, for a simpler pleasure, the soup alone serves as a splendidly satisfying lighter fare. In a video shared on Instagram, the food guru Gigi exclaimed: “Everyone is in love with beige food this autumn, but what about orange food?

“Orange food like carrots and sweet potatoes are great for your skin but did you know they’re great for iron absorption too?”

Delight in the health-filled flavours of ‘immune-boosting’ sweet potato and carrot soup, complemented by soy-glazed tempeh and soba noodles.

Sweet potato and carrot soup with soy glazed tempeh and soba noodles

Ingredients (Serves two)

• Three medium sweet potatoes
• Two or three medium-big carrots
• One garlic bulb
• Two tsp white miso paste
• One thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
• 600–800ml (2 ½ to 3 ½ cups) warm vegetable stock (or more depending on how creamy you like the soup to be)
• 160g (5.5 oz) dry buckwheat soba noodles
• 150g (5.3 oz) tempeh
• Two tbsp light soy sauce
• One tbsp maple syrup
• One tbsp sriracha (optional)
• Sesame seeds
• Fresh coriander
• Half a lime
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sesame oil
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Kick things off by preheating your oven to 200C (390F). Thoroughly wash the sweet potatoes and carrots before cutting them into mouth-watering chunks.

Spread the sweet potato and carrot pieces onto a baking tray, nestling a bulb of garlic among them, then lavishly bathe with olive oil, salt, and pepper before roasting in the pre-warmed oven for about 45 minutes, or until soft and inviting.

While your vegetables bask in the oven’s warmth, follow the packet instructions to cook the soba noodles, keeping them to one side once done. Next, turn your culinary attentions to the tempeh.

Start by crumbling the tempeh into small pieces in a bowl. Then, heat a dash of sesame oil in a pan over a low to medium flame and add the tempeh, frying it lightly until it starts to turn golden, which usually takes about five minutes.

Next, add soy sauce and maple syrup (and sriracha if you’re using it) and stir until the tempeh is well coated. Once done, remove from heat and set aside.

In a food processor, combine the sweet potato, garlic, and carrot along with miso paste, ginger, vegetable stock, and your chosen seasonings, and blend until smooth.

If you’ve used hot stock, the soup should be warm enough, but if not, heat it in a pan until it reaches your desired temperature.

Finally, ladle the soup into bowls and add the noodles and tempeh. Garnish with coriander, sesame seeds, a drizzle of sesame oil, and a squeeze of lime juice.