The sweet potato. I've used it many times in several recipes on this website. It's one of the most widely eaten starchy tubers in Zimbabwe, so I had to use it.
There is nothing better than a thick, rich, flavorful soup, and it’s not hard to achieve at all. No need to go to a restaurant for it! It’s all about the right combination of spices, rich broth, and a solid base.
If I had more time and patience, I may have made my own homemade broth for it! Homemade is usually best.
Since sweet potatoes are starchy, they lend themselves well to soups and help thicken everything up. In this case, so does the tomato paste. It’s used in French cooking technique known as pincage, which you add to mirepoix (a combination of celery, onion and carrots) which makes for a great soup base because of the flavor it adds.
I also add the tomato paste because tomatoes are almost always present in the typical Zimbabwean kitchen and all over the markets year-round. They are also the base for most stews whether vegetarian or meat-based; it’s rare to find any Zimbabwean stew that has no tomato present. I also think it adds a flavor dimension that makes soup have more depth of flavor.