Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

sweet potato peanut soup

This one I would call one of my top ten creations. The flavor and texture of the soup had an addictive quality. We ate this for 3 consecutive meals without getting tired of it, and still craved more. The inspiration for it consisted of 1 single sweet potato that was begging to be used and eaten. I am somewhat of a whimsical cook, sometimes I will just go to the store and let the ingredients I see there inspire me, other times, which was the case here, I have a single ingredient that I want to incorporate, and then work around that. The thought of the combination of sweet potatoes and peanuts along with the creaminess of coconut milk made my mouth water before I even started cooking. Normally I would have used plain peanuts, but in this case I felt I needed a little more than I had, so I added some honey roasted peanuts as well. Based on how this soup came out, yes, honey roasted peanuts need to be a component. I also felt that, while hearty, the soup would benefit from a vegetable side dish. I chose to serve it with steamed broccoli served with just butter and salt. The two dishes were very complementary. We did try to add a piece of broccoli to the soup to see if it would work in the soup rather than on the side, but the flavors and textures work much better separately.

Yield: 8 servings
Prep time:35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium sized yellow onions
3 cloves garlic
2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 6)
64 ounces vegetable broth
6 ounces shelled peanuts (if you use salted, reduce added salt accordingly)
2 ounces honey roasted peanuts
2 cans coconut milk
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon black soy sauce
1 tablespoon basil (fresh or dried, I used dried Thai basil in this instance)
1 tablespoon turmeric
salt and pepper to taste

How is this sustainable ?

Again, the main component of sustainability here is the fact that the dish is vegetarian. Most of these ingredients can be bought organic, and there are no items in this recipe that have a particularly impactful environmental effect. 

Instructions

  1. Chop onions, set aside.
  2. Chop garlic, set aside.
  3. Peel and cube sweet potatoes, set aside.
  4. Heat a stock pot over medium heat, then add olive oil.
  5. Add chopped onions, sauté until translucent, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
  6. Add garlic, sauté another 30 seconds.
  7. Add sweet potatoes and cover with vegetable broth.
  8. Bring to a boil.
  9. Reduce heat and simmer over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are softened.
  10. Meanwhile, shell peanuts (if needed), and chop basil (if using fresh.)
  11. Add coconut milk and peanuts to stock pot, and stir in lime juice, black soy sauce, basil, turmeric, salt and pepper.
  12. Puree soup with immersion blender until thick and smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender — you will have to do 2 cups or so at a time — or a food processor with a sharp chopping blade.)
  13. Serve with steamed broccoli or other vegetable of your choice on the side.
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