Creamy Sweet Potato and Red Pepper Soup
- Savory
- Asian
- Creamy
- Mild
- Stovetop
- Oven
Sweet potatoes and red peppers simmer until tender, then coconut milk and a squeeze of lime turn them into a silky, gently spiced soup.
- Total
- 45 min
- Prep 15 · Cook 30
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Sweating · Blooming spices
Instructions
-
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into 2 cm cubes. Halve the red peppers, remove the seeds and cut them into 2 cm pieces. Peel the onion and chop it finely.
~10 min
-
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes.
~6 min
Cooking the onion slowly until translucent sweats it, releasing sweetness without browning, which keeps the soup's flavor clean.
Sweating Cook the onion over medium heat until soft and translucent, not browned; if it starts to color, lower the heat.
-
Add the red curry paste and ground coriander and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the sweet potatoes and red peppers and stir to coat.
~2 min
Briefly frying the spices in oil blooms their fat-soluble aromas, making the curry paste taste fuller and less raw.
Blooming spices Stir the spices in hot oil for just 30 seconds until fragrant; they burn quickly, so keep them moving and add the vegetables promptly.
-
Pour in 600 ml water and add the salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer until the sweet potatoes crush easily against the side of the pot, 18 to 20 minutes.
~20 min
Simmering gently with the lid on lets the vegetables soften evenly without evaporating too much liquid or scorching.
-
While step 4 cooks
While the soup simmers, juice the lime into a small bowl and set aside.
~2 min
-
Stir the coconut milk into the pot and warm through for 2 minutes. Blend about half the soup until smooth, then stir it back in for a creamy but still chunky texture.
~2 min
Blending only half gives a creamy base while keeping some chunks, so the soup has body without turning uniformly thick.
-
Taste and adjust the salt, then stir in the lime juice off the heat. Ladle into bowls and finish with a little black pepper.
~1 min
Adding lime off the heat preserves its bright, volatile aromas, which boiling would drive off and make taste dull.
Add the lime juice after the pot is off the heat; boiling dulls its fresh edge.
