Meatless Mondays – Curried Sweet Potato Soup

sweetpotatosoup-vegetarian

"This tastes like restaurant soup!" announced Marco with enthusiasm and I knew I had a hit on my hands.  While we often eat vegetarian meals, participating in Meatless Mondays has required that I get more organized about it.  We’ve got a few dandies coming up the pike so be sure to check back each Monday, if not more often 🙂

Despite the fact that it feels like spring around these parts (Maverick spent Saturday morning at the shore), I am still craving winter favorites like rich soups to warm the evenings when sunset is still coming too quickly. 

Prior to this recipe, I had never blended tofu into a soup but I wanted to up the nutritional ante of this vegan soup.  I did not want to use beans because it would have masked the sweet potato flavor with beany notes.

I am happy to report that it worked famously and tasted so yummy that Marco will never know about the tofu (wink, wink).  FYI – Sneaking tofu into Marco’s soup or calling anything vegan falls under "what he doesn’t know will make him healthier" category.

Now onto the soup, thick and aromatic, bright with sweet potatoes and accented with Indian flavors like ground corriander, fresh ginger and coconut milk, this bowl of orange-yellow goodness is a winner.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Serves 6

To speed up the process, prep the sweet potatoes ahead of time and refrigerate them until needed for making the soup. This soup doubles easily and freezes well.

2 lbs. sweet potatoes
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbsp. grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne, more to taste
1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
3 Tbsp. lemon juice or 2 Tbsp. lime juice
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 (1-lb) pkg. silken tofu
1 (15 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk (light or regular)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the sweet potatoes (boil, microwave, bake – your choice). To bake: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and cook until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool for a few minutes. Remove and discard skin.

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt and ginger.  Cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cumin, curry powder, ground coriander and cayenne. Cook and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the brown sugar and lemon juice. Add the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

Cut the cooked sweet potatoes into bite size chunks. Add the sweet potatoes, tofu and coconut milk. Stir well.  Cook for 10 -15 minutes to heat through and so that the flavors mingle. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Alternatively, puree the soup in batches in either a food processor or a blender.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with a scant Tbsp. cilantro.

FMI on Meatless Mondays, click here.

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