A sublime, intriguing, golden-orange bisque--creamy, spicy, and bold.
I can't believe I spent most of my early life disliking sweetpotatoes. The very sight of them made me cringe. Thankfully, the only time they were served in my family was at Thanksgiving. And then they were that nasty concoction of sugary sweetpotatoes with marshmallows on top. You know the dish.
Today though, sweetpotatoes have a respected place in the LunaCafe kitchen. I have learned to use their inherent sweetness, creaminess, richness, and gorgeous color as a foil for numerous complimentary ingredients, particularly bold, spicy, and acidic counterparts.
When a savory sweetpotato dish fails, it is usually because of blandness and sweetness that are not balanced with sufficient acid. I rarely buy a bag of sweetpotatoes without also throwing in a couple of juicy limes or a bottle of fresh, acidic apple cider -- both are perfect sweetness balancers, and add interesting and complementary flavors as well.
I love to browse the local farmer's markets in the fall to check out all the available varieties of sweetpotatoes: Beauregard, Hannah, Jewel, Nemagold, and Centennial, to name a few. The yams that are available in the Northwest, such as Red Garnet, are actually a variety of sweetpotato, so I look for those too. There are subtle differences that beg to be explored in the kitchen.
This fall, inspired by the bounty at the farmers markets, I developed several new soups using sweetpotatoes and yams, one of which I am sharing with you today. If you love sweetpotatoes, you will love this soup. But even if you don't, try this recipe. It will change your mind.
By the way, I learned at the Oregon State University website that sweetpotato is now considered one word, to distinguish it from the potato family, to which it does not belong.
INGREDIENT NOTE Many of the winter squashes also make fine substitutes for sweetpotatoes: baby pumpkin, acorn, butternut, carnival, the smaller kabochas, or delicata, to name several commonly available varieties. For more information on winter squash varieties, selection, preparation, and storage, check out the Winter Squash Fresh Primer.
Curried Sweetpotato, Ginger, & Coconut Bisque with Cilantro Lime Oil & Toasted Coconut
This is a sublime, intriguing, golden-orange bisque--creamy, spicy, and bold. Although you may be tempted to skip the garnish elements, don’t. They lift the flavor, adding a surprising and welcome counterpoint. Also, sweetpotatoes demand salt in the same way that potatoes do. You will need to add more than you think reasonable.
vegetable oil spray
1 pound sweetpotatoes or yams, peeled and cut in 2-inch chunks
1 head garlic, top ½ inch cut off to expose the garlic cloves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups, peeled, finely chopped yellow onion (1 medium onion)
2 cups finely chopped leek, white and pale green portions only (about 1½ large leeks)
1 cup, peeled, finely chopped carrot
3 tablespoon peeled, minced fresh ginger
1-2 jalapeno chiles, stemmed, seeded, ribbed, and minced (use gloves)
finely grated zest of one lime
1 tablespoon best-quality curry powder (Madras brand is excellent)
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
6 cups chicken stock
One 13.5 ounce can coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
fine sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Garnish
sour cream
chopped cilantro
unsweetened coconut shards, lightly toasted (Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Flaked Coconut is available in supermarkets)
Cilantro Lime Oil (see recipe below)
- Lightly coat an edged baking sheet with vegetable spray.
- Arrange the sweet potatoes, along with the head of garlic in a single layer on the sheet and roast at 375° for 35-45 minutes, until fully tender.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large casserole or soup pot and slowly cook the onion, leek, carrot, ginger, and chilies until softened, but not browned, about 20 minutes.
- During the last 5 minutes, add the lime zest, curry powder and thyme. Remove from the heat and hold until the sweet potatoes are ready to add.
- When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove to a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
- Squeeze the garlic from the papery shell and add to the processor.
- Puree the sweet potatoes and garlic, slowly adding 1 cup of the chicken stock to get a smooth puree.
- Scrape the mixture from the bowl of the processor, measure out 3½ cups, and add that to the soup pot, along with the remaining 5 cups of chicken stock and the coconut milk. (Any remaining sweet potato puree can be refrigerated and used later. I like to add it to mashed potatoes.)
- Stir until incorporated, and then gently simmer until the flavors are melded and the liquid has reduced slightly, about 15 minutes. (For a more formal presentation, puree the soup with a hand-held immersion blender.)
- Finally, add the cream and then adjust the flavor by adding salt, pepper, and plenty of lime juice until a flavor balance is achieved.
- To serve, ladle 1 ½ cups of soup into each bowl, drizzle sour cream and Cilantro Lime Oil over the top, and then scatter a few toasted coconut shards in the center of each bowl and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
Makes 10-12 cups; serves 6-8.
Cilantro Lime Oil
small handful cilantro
3-inch length of a bunch of green onions
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a processor fitted with the steel blade, finely chop the cilantro and green onion.
- Slowly add the oil and process until well blended.
- Add the lime juice, and then add salt to taste.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Makes ¾ cup.
Copyright 2008 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.
This soup looks so soothing for our cooler nights now. I also loved learning about all of the different varieties of sweetpotatoes (who knew there were so many? Not me!) -- AND that sweetpotato is now considered to be one word. Love the education tidbits you share with your gorgeous photos and tasty recipes!
Marlynn recently posted...Travel Bliss: Paragliding Over the Fraser Valley + First Time Paragliding Tips!
You just gave me great advice for trying sweet potatoes in a way I might end up liking them.
This looks and sounds amazing (loving the Cilantro Lime Oil)! I also love the jalapenos in this for a bit of "zip!" Nice! I'm with you -- spent most of my lift not liking sweet potatoes (what was I thinking?!), but have found the glory in them 🙂
Patricia recently posted...Skillet Pork Migas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Wow, you've managed to pack so many flavors into this soup. I love the idea of the cilantro lime oil. Cilantro and lime together are one of my weaknesses. They just have such a fabulous aroma to them, especially when combined.
Amy recently posted...Cranberry Almond Granola
I 've gotta try this bisque! Looks so delicious and healthy. Love all the flavors here! Pinning.
Neli recently posted...Comment on Easy Stuffed Peppers by Marye
What a lovely soup Susan! I love soups for the colder seasons, and they're perfect for grab and go lunches!
Erin recently posted...Vietnamese Chicken Wings
I am so happy soup season is back! I love the combination of sweet potato and coconut milk - YUM!
This looks amazing! I love all of these flavors combined!
Bonnie recently posted...Dynamo: Melissa Filas
Huh, I had no idea sweet potato is now sweetpotato I learned something today now can I go home? 😀 intriguing how this is a soup as usually I roast mine in the oven and wat it solid or mashed so good to know this new way to enjoy!
Pech recently posted...Krusteaz Cookies + Free Giveaway! (Sponsored)
Pech, I don't think the sweetpotato commission has made much progress in getting folks to adopt their new naming. But I'm doing my best to support the cause. 🙂
I love that you explained sweetpotato is one word now. I have seen it and wasn't sure why. I will have to make this soup for my family. It has the flavors we all love.
Christie recently posted...Healthy Asian Recipes
Christie, thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I was the same way with sweet potatoes - they were so disgusting at Thanksgiving! After discovering roasting and amazing creamy soups like this one, sweet potatoes became one of my favorite foods.
Alisa Fleming recently posted...Wild Alaska Beer-Broiled Fish Tacos
Alisa, happy to know another former sweetpotato hater. 🙂
Mmmmm, this sounds so good! I love the combo of sweet potatoes with onions, garlic and spices. I'll be making this soon!
Lisa recently posted...SLOW COOKER BRAZILIAN FEIJOADA
Lisa, do try it. It's one of my fave soups. Love fall! 🙂
This looks sooo sooo good! The ingredients you have used remind me of my home in coastal India. Can't wait to try this!
Ramya, that's so good to hear. I LOVE Indian food. All those marvelous flavors!
Thanks! Loved this and have made it several times so far! I worked out a light, vegan version for our family and used 2# of sweet potatoes instead of 1#. I made a trip to the co-op for the unsweetened flaked coconut, which turned out to be addictively good. The garnishes really do make it-- as you said, I was tempted not to make them, but am so glad that I did. The cilantro lime garnish is also something I'll be making again- so good and so easy. I'll be sharing my version soon-- with links back to this page and Luna Cafe.
Mary (Fit and Fed) recently posted...Vegetable Stock
Awesome, thanks Mary! 🙂
Looks and sounds like a delicious soup, but I would replace the stock in my version.
Thanks so much, Tiffany! Baby pumpkin, butternut squash, and acorn squash all work great in this recipe. Also, I should have mentioned above that you can add an additional cup of cream to the pureed version of this soup and then chill it for a wonderfully exotic variation on vichyssoise (cold potato leek soup). With this last week's burst of warm weather in Portland and Seattle, a cold soup sounds mighty good to me right now.
oops, forgot to put my name! Again, this looks amazingly good!
Yay! I've been waiting for this! I can't wait to try it although I think I'll use baby pumpkins just because they will be far 'fresher' than what my stores will have for sweetpotatoes. Every time I check out this site I learn something new thank you!!