Sweet Potato, Coconut & Lemongrass Soup

By Claire, December 10, 2012

When I received an invite for a Hanukkah party in New York, hosted by Leah of Cook Kosher and Miriam of Overtime Cook, I was ready to pack my suitcase. I immediately started daydreaming: 'how can I manage to get away on such short notice sorting home, work, ticket, hotel and equally important outfit! Reading through the email invite once again, reality struck me, this was an invite for a digital Hanukkah party.

So no trip to New York, no excuse for buying a great new outfit, but it did result in a delicious new soup recipe. This sweet potato, coconut and lemongrass soup has a velvety texture, is suitable for the entire family and very easy to prepare (as you are probably busy enough this time a year). It's simple and sweet, just the way it should be.

Total Time: 35 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4-6

Ingredients:

Olive Oil - 2 tbsp.
Sweet Potatoes - 1 kg/ 2 lbs., peeled and roughly chopped
White Onion - 1 large, finely chopped
Celery Stalks - 4, peeled and chopped
Lemongrass Stalks - 2, cut into halves
Kaffir Lime Leaves - 2
Garlic - 1/2 tsp. finely chopped
Ginger - 1/2 tsp. finely chopped
Vegetable Stock - 1,25L / 5 cups
Coconut Milk (reduced fat) - 125 ml / 1/2 cup
Thai Basil - for garnish

Instructions:

Heat the olive oil on medium heat. Sweat the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves and celery until the onion becomes translucent.

Add the sweet potatoes and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil, once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer covered for about 25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Now allow the soup to cool off for a minute. Before you blend it into a smooth soup, please remove the lime leaves and lemongrass. Carefully transfer all the ingredients into your blender or use a handheld blender to cream the soup.

Return the soup to a clean pan, reheat and add the coconut milk. Taste your soup and season with white pepper and possible some salt.

Before serving, reheat the soup, ladle into bowls and sprinkle some fresh Thai basil on top

To help get everyone into party mode, we have a bunch of fabulous new cookbooks to giveaway! Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win one of:

2 copies of Susie Fishbein's new Kosher By Design Cooking Coach (sponsored by Artscroll)
2 copies of Leah Schapira's Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking (sponsored by Artscroll)
2 copies of Esther Deutch's CHIC Made Simple (sponsored by the author)

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM on Sunday, December 16th. Limit one entry per person per blog, so visit the other blogs for extra chances to win!

Prizes can only be shipped within the US. Entries must be accompanied by a valid email address in order to qualify.

How to enter: Leave a comment on this post

This is the second of many fabulous Holiday Blog Parties. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to participate in future parties, please email [email protected]

Latkes:

Jamie from Joy of Kosher made Zucchini Latkes with Tzatziki
Daniel from Peikes Cookbook made Potato and Fennel Latkes Fried in Duck Fat With Chinese Five Spice Apple Sauce
Susan from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen made Squash and Potato Latkes
Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen made Ruby Red Beet Latkes with Cumin
Nechamah from TIforOA Food Ideas made Healthy Oatmeal Latkes
Liz from The Lemon Bowl made Traditional Potato Latkes
Yosef from This American Bite made Latkes & Brisket on Rye
Melanie from From Fast Food to Fresh Food made (I Can't Believe They're Crispy!) Baked Latkes
Laura from Mother Would Know made Three Variations of Sweet and Savory Latkes
Sarah from Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends made Kimchee Latkes
Shulie from Food Wanderings made Baked Panko Sweet Potato Leek Latkes

Donuts and Desserts:

Miriam from Overtime Cook made Shortcut Cannoli with Chocolate Mousse Filling
Leah from Cook Kosher made 5 Minute Donuts
Estee from The Kosher Scoop made Tropical Fruit Fritters
Melinda from Kitchen-Tested made Sweet Steamed Buns
Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat made Homemade Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Gelt
Avidan from Baking It Up As I Go Along made Orange Olive Oil Cake
Tali from More Quiche Please made Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes
Amital from Organized Jewish Home made Mom's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Princess Lea from The Frumanista made Túrógombóc
Stephanie and Jessica from The Kosher Foodies made Beignets
Gigi from Gigi's Kitchen made Bunuelos: Mini Powdered Cheese Donuts
Esther from Esther O Designs made Edible Menorahs
Patti from No Bacon Here made Hanukkah Oreo Balls
Shoshana from Couldn't Be Parve made Churros con Chocolate
Shaindy from My Happily Hectic Life made Inside Out Apple Crisp
Eve from Gluten Free Nosh made Gluten-Free Hanukkah Sugar Cookies
The Gluten Free maven made Gluten Free Vegan Cake Donuts
Amy from Baking and Mistaking made Mini Cream-Filled French Beignets
Sarah from Food, Words, Photos made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Victoria from Itsy Bitsy Balebusta made Pure Vanilla Donuts
Vicky and Ruth from May I Have That Recipe made Dulce de Leche and Eggnog cream filled mini sufganiot
Dena from Oh You Cook made Poached Pears in Pomegranate Sauce
Michele from Kosher Treif Cooking made Tiramisu Cheessecake
Sharon from FashionIsha made Sparkly Chanukah Cookies