Monday, October 11, 2010

Sweet Potato & Cabbage Soup

Ever since the weather started getting cooler I've been wanting to make a spicy sweet potato curry soup. I've made various soups of this kind before - usually with plenty of coconut milk, coriander, and other such delicious flavors in amongst the sweet potatoes.

This afternoon I decided to put the bag of sweet potatoes in my cupboard to good use. However, I also had a purple cabbage in the fridge from my CSA share, and wasn't in the mood for a coleslaw or salad. Lo and behold, the soup gods were smiling upon me. I came across Karina's recipe for Purple Cabbage and Sweet Potato Soup and decided to alter it to fit the current contents of my kitchen.

Without measuring anything, I threw into my stockpot:

A drizzle of olive oil
A heap of curry powder, a bunch of cumin, and several dashes of red pepper flakes
Three or four peeled and diced sweet potatoes
1 yellow onion, chopped
About half a head of garlic, minced
A whole head of purple cabbage, shredded
1 green pepper from my garden
The remnants of a jar of jalapenos from my fridge - maybe 1/4 cup of slices, finely chopped

I sauteed these ingredients for 10-15 minutes until everything was softening and smelled amazing. Then I added:

2 or 3 cups of water
1 can of lite coconut milk (Trader Joe's brand)
The last of my package of Trader Joe's peanut flour (this stuff is amazing - watch for another post about it soon!) - maybe 1/2-3/4 cup
A little palmful of kosher salt

I let it simmer for 30-45 minutes, until the smell was so enticing I had to eat a bowl.

[And then a second one...]

I used peanut flour instead of the peanut butter Karina calls for, and it imparted delicious peanutty flavor while also thickening up the soup a bit. I omitted the vinegar, beans, and a few other things Karina's recipe calls for, and changed up the quantities completely to use up some things I had on hand.

Nevertheless, this concoction was certainly inspired by her recipe and I was so pleased with how it turned out.

Check out Karina's blog for a nice photo of the soup that will make you want to make some immediately.

I'm already looking forward to having leftovers tomorrow - that's how good this soup was.

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