Moroccan Bean Stew

This is another new recipe I've just finished, and it's become one of my very favorite soups - period. 

There's something about the warmth and complexity of the spices and seasonings in Moroccan cuisine that keeps me coming back for more... and inspires me to create new dishes using them. 

This Moroccan Bean Stew offers a heaping serving of black beans, chickpeas, and lentils, along with sweet potatoes (here I've used yellow-fleshed), and in a fragrant, intoxicating broth infused with cinnamon, cumin, coriander, ginger, fennel, garlic and more.  Topped off with roasted sliced (dried) figs.  We ate this soup last night and it was most satisfying.

Speaking of yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes, do you use them much?  Personally, I love them, and favor them in my cooking many times over the orange variety.  But, are they widely available in most areas?  Curious, since I find myself using them more and more in my new recipes.

...people who are concerned about their hearts get little benefit from switching from regular meats to lean meats, or to chicken and fish... The power foods are foods from plants.  Vegetarinas have a much better menu for the heart.  Lacto-ovo-vegetarians do much better than those on lean-meat diets, while pure vegetarians who steer clear of all animal products do best of all.  (Food for Life, Dr. Neal Barnard)