Creamy Curried Coconut and Sweet Potato Soup

Errrm, Winter is over. WHY is it still cold?

Hello and a very merry March to you I do declare.

About bloody time as well! I know that it's leap year and therefore we had an extra day in February but I didn’t realise that meant that the world would literally stop turning and Father Time would effectively bugger off to Venus. Never in the History of the world has a month taken so long to pass.

Also speaking of Venus I would quickly like to mention that that is where I am going to move to if Donald Trump is voted America’s next President. Incinerating temperatures, a toxic atmosphere, sulphuric acid filled cloud formations and a bone-crushing atmospheric pressure comparable to walking under 3000 feet of water… It just makes much more sense.

Sorry, I don’t mean to be a moaning myrtle. Maybe it’s just me that thinks February has dragged but it’s true what they say; time most certainly does not fly when you’re not having fun and life has been by no means fun over the last couple of weeks. Amidst the numerous power cuts at work that cause me and my colleagues persistent displeasure (26 in one day ensures that the emotional response goes full circle from frustration to fury to dismay to hysterical laughter to not caring and back again) and the cold conditions (that resulted in me having to place a heater under my desk, between my legs and dangerously close to the crutch vicinity) you would think that at the end of a long day, getting home would be a godsend right?

Nope.  

Back at the bungalow you see, the corner of one of the wardrobes was recently invaded by a large patch of mouldy damp (who was most definitely not invited). This resulted in me and the grandparents having to spend some time spraying fungicide up the wall and applying multiple layers of anti-mould paint – activities of which I don’t really find an appealing way to spend time at the weekend.

It’s not all been doom and gloom however, as it was my friend Katy’s birthday last week and in celebration we went out clubbing and got down with our bad selves… it’s been a while. We did have a really great time but I knew I may be getting a bit passed the whole thing when I began throwing about phrases such as, ‘let’s paint the town red’ and ‘oooh, it’s a bit loud’. Combine these with a slut drop attempt that went down to floor and didn’t come back up and I can honestly say that for the first time in my life I felt a little like my mum (and as a 23 year old male, this isn’t really ideal).

So to quickly sum up:

I’ve been constantly cold, feeling a little bit old and to top it all off have had to wage war over mould.

What a lovely poem. I’m basically Sylvia Plath. Well not really…

Anyway, after all of these shenanigans I was in need of something warm and comforting (inside mah belleh) and so unsurprisingly soup was in order. This recipe has a similar taste to the creamy coconut pumpkin curry I made back in October during my pumpkin addiction phase and is smooth, thick, creamy and nutrient dense. It’s great to make as a big batch with leftovers being perfectly eligible for storage in the freezer for at least a month and up to a week in the fridge. This soup is very healthy but it doesn’t taste ‘skinny’ by any means and is sure to leave any taster very satisfied.

Warm up your stomachs and begin to defrost yourselves for spring, Easter is on the Horizon!

Mange tout!

(I know it’s a vegetable but it also sounds like a fancy French way of saying good bye so I just went with it)

 
Curried Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 large or 3 medium/small sweet potatoes,

1 can of butter beans or other white beans such as chick peas

½ can light (or full fat if you fancy) coconut milk

2 cups (500 ml) vegetable stock

1 onion - diced

1 garlic clove - diced also

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ginger

½ tsp garum masala

½ tsp cumin

Optional ingredients: 1 cup sweet corn and some milk of choice to alter consistency.

Instructions:

Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into rough cubes (I use the word cube lightly here - my chopped potatoes usually resemble the kinds of shapes that Toddlers attempt to draw around age 3 - point being just chop the potatoes and don't worry about the shape too much).

Steam for 5-10 mins until fork tender.

Meanwhile add some coconut milk to a pan and fry the chopped onions and garlic along with spices for couple minutes until fragrant.

Add in the stock and the rest of the coconut milk and stir around before reducing heat to a simmer.

Once potatoes are done add them in to the rest of the ingredients along with the beans and the sweet corn (if using) and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes more.

Blend with and immersion blender or transfer to blender/food processor in batches to blend.

Thin with a milk of choice (I used some almond milk) until a desired consistency is reached. I like my soup thicker than Paris Hilton so I actually only used a little extra milk, however do what works best for you.

Soups up!