Sweet n spicy sweet potato soup – a winner

SHANNON SARNA

Of course you can make it dairy and serve it with creme fraiche although I enjoy topping it with a drizzle of pomegranate molasses and a sprinkle of pepitas for crunch. It is a great soup to sip in the succah on any cool day.

Ingredients

5-6 medium sweet potatoes
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp coarse sea salt
2-3 dried chilli peppers (small; if using medium sized dried chillies, just use one)

Crème fraiche (optional)

Pomegranate molasses or techina (optional)

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix brown sugar, cayenne pepper, paprika and salt in a small bowl. Cut sweet potatoes in half and place on foil-lined baking sheet. Spread brown sugar spice mixture all over sweet potatoes and drizzle with olive oil.

Roast sweet potatoes for 35-45 minutes or until completely soft. Set aside and let cool.

In a medium to large pot, heat 3 Tbsp olive oil and sauté onions and carrots until translucent and soft, around 4-6 minutes.

Add 2-3 cups of stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Add sweet potato flesh and using an immersion blender, blend all vegetables until smooth. Add remaining stock and dried chillies.

When the soup is heated through and flavours have blended, around 20-30 minutes, add coconut milk.

Remove the dried chillies before serving. Note: the longer you let the chillies sit in the soup, the spicier the soup will be.

If you are making this soup dairy, you can serve with a dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream. If you are serving this soup pareve, drizzle with pomegranate molasses or techina. (The Nosher via JTA)