After killing it with my Sweet Potato Fries (killing in a good way–you should definitely make them soon), I figured I had to expand my culinary horizons and use sweet potatoes in another dish. This time I used the garnet/jewel variety of sweet potato. Did you know there are at least 16 varieties of sweet potatoes? True story. The garnet/jewel variety is most well known for it’s appearances in the ever-popular marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole and mashed sweet potatoes. However I stayed clear of the marshmallows and opted to make Thai Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup.
I received a huge bag of donated sweet potatoes  and carrots from Goodness Greeness. At first I rocked out the baked sweet potatoes but the family started to complain so my mind wandered to the world of curry. In the past, I have dabbled with Indian curry and sweet potatoes but this time I decided to take a different route and incorporate coconut milk and thai chiles. I thought about the flavors I love in thai coconut curry. Ginger, garlic, scallions, coconut milk, curry paste, palm sugar and lime. I took all of these flavor profiles and combined it with my soup base. (Not to mention, I have a really well stocked pantry).
The outcome was an amazingly healthy, flavorful and vegan (yes, vegan) fall soup. It’s perfect for anyone with a dietary restriction (it’s gluten-free and dairy-free people). Eureka! I have just stumbled upon the perfect dish! I just learned that I can be using that best rated slow cooker I never use to make this soup, it got even easier! Besides being an awesome lunch or dinner it would be great if you poured the soup into cute little espresso cups and passed it around for an appetizer at Thanksgiving. Yes people we’re almost halfway through November; we have to start to talk about Thanksgiving.
The soup starts with the essentials: ginger, garlic and scallions. Then I add the sweet potatoes and carrots and let everything sauté for a bit together. Next step is very important…the addition of thai curry paste. You want to make sure to let the thai curry coat the veggies and become fragrant. Let it simmer away in veggie stock until tender and then puree.
The next step is really important and it’s all about the coconut milk. When you open a can of coconut milk you’ll notice that the cream really does rise to the top. You want to scoop out the cream first and add that to the soup after it’s pureed. It will give the soup the most creamy texture and intense flavor. Mmmm…coconut milk. Once it’s simmered and pureed finish the soup with some lime, cilantro and scallions.
Whichever way you serve it this Thai Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup is a really awesome and satisfying fall-time soup. It’s spicy, savory and just a teeny bit sweet. (Of course it’s organic too).
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- ½ tbsp grated garlic
- ¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, white part only (save green tops for garnish)
- ½ cup thinly sliced onions
- 2 large organic sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into medium-sized pieces
- 3 large organic carrots, peeled and chopped into medium-sized pieces
- 2 tbsp thai red curry, (such as [url href=”http://www.thaikitchen.com/products/sauces-and-pastes/red-curry-paste.aspx”]Thai Kitchen[/url])
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (can substitute brown sugar, agave nectar or honey)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce*
- ½ cup cilantro plus more for garnish
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 tbsp fresh lime plus more wedges for garnish
- *If you are making this soup vegan or vegetarian you can substitute 1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari for the fish sauce
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add the coconut oil.
- Once melted, add the ginger, garlic and scallions. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Next add the onions and sauté for 5-7 minutes until slightly softened.
- Add the sweet potatoes and carrots and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the red curry paste and allow the paste to cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Cover the vegetables with the vegetables stock and bring up to a simmer. You may need to add more liquid as the soup continues to cook. I recommend using water so the vegetables stock doesn’t overwhelm the flavors of the soup.
- Once the vegetables are tender and have broken down add the palm sugar, fish sauce and cilantro. Stir to combine. Taste to check for seasoning.
- In batches, add the soup to a blender being careful not to overfill it. (You don’t want sweet potato exploded all over you and your kitchen.) Puree the soup until smooth and add the soup into a new pot.
- Bring the soup back up to a simmer and add the coconut milk. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Finish the soup with the lime juice at the end. Taste one more time for seasoning. Garnish with lime wedges, scallions and cilantro.
