With this chilly weather, a nice leek and sweet potato cream with fenugreek is ideal. So delicate, it’s a velvety soup suitable for any season but enriched with fenugreek, a precious anti-inflammatory, it also becomes healthy.
Fenugreek is indeed the protagonist of this month for the column we hold with our friends from herbs and flowers on the plate.
Do you know it? Do you use it? It is commercially available in powder, dried, and in seeds, and we will use the latter.
Fenugreek, whose name is Trigonella foenum-graecum, belongs to the family of Fabaceae, like soy, originally from Asia and the eastern Mediterranean area.
A plant that has always been used since antiquity as a phytotherapeutic and nutritional remedy even by traditional Chinese medicine. But already an Egyptian medical papyrus from 1500 BC recommended its seeds as a remedy. Greek and Roman athletes used it to improve physical endurance. Charlemagne ordered it to be cultivated in monasteries.
First of all, fenugreek is used as a restorative, so it is often found as a supplement as well.
It is also indicated to treat anemia, and helps reduce LDL cholesterol.
As we said, the seeds are used, in my case I transform them into sprouts so the properties of the tiny plant are even more amplified. Or you can toast, grind, and add a pinch (just a little is enough in dishes).
Today I prepared this Leek and Sweet Potato Cream with Fenugreek, but you can find other recipes with other sprouts below, (you can then use sprouted fenugreek).
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, All seasons
Ingredients for Leek and Sweet Potato Cream
Naturally, if you can’t find sweet potatoes, you can use regular potatoes or carrots to give more color.
- 2 leeks
- 2 sweet potatoes (or yams) (orange)
- 1 sprig aromatic herbs (thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary)
- 2.1 cups vegetable broth (or slightly salted water)
- 4 tablespoons fenugreek (sprouted)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Immersion Blenders
Steps for Leek and Sweet Potato Cream with Fenugreek
A few days earlier, place the fenugreek seeds on the spouter and let them sprout.
Wash, cut some of the green part of the leeks and set it aside for a sauté. Finely slice the rest and set aside.
Wash and peel the sweet potatoes, cut into chunks, and add to the leeks.
Put leeks and sweet potatoes in the pot cold (in this case, I don’t do the sauté). Add the broth or possibly salted water to cover the vegetables, the sprig of tied aromatic herbs, or dried and chopped aromatic herbs, and cook for about 25 minutes.
Check the consistency, and blend the cream. Add the lemon juice, chia seeds, and the tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Serve at the table with a generous sprinkle of sprouted fenugreek.
Advice or Variations
If you prefer a more complete dish, add two good handfuls of split red lentils during cooking. If you can’t find fenugreek, you can sprinkle with other types of sprouts. Add them at the last minute otherwise, they cook with the hot cream, no problem but they no longer remain their brilliant green.
Serve with whole wheat croutons, perhaps in soup cocottes.
Also check out the other recipes from the friends of #herbsandflowersontheplate and follow us on IG with this hashtag.
Elisa: Lobio, traditional Georgian recipe of red beans and fenugreek https://www.ilfiordicappero.com/2025/11/lobio.html
Miria: Bread with Fenugreek
Tiziana: Chickpea Balls with Fenugreek https://www.nonnapaperina.it/2025/10/polpette-ceci-fieno-greco/
