We recently experienced this soup while traveling to Ireland (of all places), at the palatial “Adare Manor” in County Claire. While there isn’t anything “Irish” about this soup, the flavors were so warming and comforting, that we had to recreate it when we got home. A perfect soup for Spring (when there’s still a little chill in the air). Bon Appetit, and Get Cheffy!
FOR THE SOUP:
- 3-4 Large Sweet Potatoes (about 1.5 pounds), peeled, and cut into large one inch cubes.
- 1 Bunch of Scallions: trimmed ends and divided into their white/light-green parts and dark green parts.
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic.
- 2 Tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 Tablespoons curry powder.
- We use “Penzy’s Sweet curry powder” brand
- 1 14oz can of Coconut Milk
- We use “Aroy-D” brand
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- Begin by putting a large stock pot over medium-high heat with your tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the white/light-green scallion halved (reserving the dark green parts for garnish) to your oil, and cook over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally, for 4-6 minutes. After 4-6 minutes, add your minced garlic, and allow to cook for another 60 seconds.
- Lower your heat to medium and add your curry powder. Stir to combine your curry powder into your oil and allow the oil to bloom/cook your curry powder for 30 seconds. Once your curry powder is fragrant, add your cubed sweet potato and stir to combine. Add in your can of coconut milk and then, to help rinse out the can, fill the now-empty can of coconut milk with water and add to your stock pot (repeat this process of adding water 2 or 3 more can-fulls of water until all of your vegetables are submerged under the cooking liquid. Bring your stock pot up to a boil, and then reduce to a medium simmer to cook your sweet potatoes through (another 12-15 minutes).
- After 12-15 minutes, test your sweet potatoes for doneness by taking one out and pressing into it with a fork; a fork should go in with no resistance and the potato should break apart. Once your sweet potatoes are cooked, turn off your heat, and add your soy sauce and grated ginger. Stir to combine before processing with an immersion blender until your soup is fully puréed. Taste your soup at this point…….all cooking, but soups especially, will need to be adjusted to suit your taste………need more curry powder?…..add some in….. not tasting the ginger how you’d like, grate more and toss it in…..more salt, hot sauce, etc?……adjust your soups flavoring incrementally by adding additional ingredients and re-pulsing with an immersion blender. Once you’re pleased with your soup, garnish with minced dark green scallions and serve or allow to cool before covering and storing for up to a week.
- The Get Cheffy kitchen doesn’t currently have an immersion blender, but a friendly neighboring kitchen allowed us to borrow their’s…….it’s the only way to go. If you don’t own an immersion blender either, you can purée the soup, in batches, in a heat-proof blender.
GET CHEFFY TIP!– This soup is wonderful to eat plain, but it loves to be dolled-up with garnishes. We got extra with the garnishes and made “crispy fried onions” as a garnish. Slice one onion into strips and add to a medium sized heat proof and microwaveable bowl. Add vegetable oil to your onions until they’re nearly covered in the oil and microwave on high for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, carefully remove the bowl, stir the onion in the oil, and repeat the process two to four more times (depending on the strength of your microwave). You’ll start to notice the onion browning in the oil, and becoming fragrant (reduce your cooking intervals to 30 seconds once you notice your onions browning as the frying process happens quickly). One you’ve achieved a dark brown color on your onion, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain on a paper towel lined plate. Your onions will crisp up in about 2 minutes after resting on the plate.
Get Cheffy 