SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH CHORIZO AND COCONUT CREAM
This soup is rich and flavorful, made with roasted sweet potatoes and chorizo and then mixed with full-fat coconut milk for the rich creaminess that you look for in a thick soup or bisque. It’s perfect on a chilly fall or winter day for lunch with a simple kale salad, or you can serve it as a first course at your next dinner party. For added convenience, make ahead and reheat. SERVES 4 TO 6
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 60 minutes
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons grass-fed butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 dried bay leaves
5 cups chicken broth
1 pound chorizo, sliced
1 (13.5-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk, refrigerated (reserve 2 to 3 tablespoons for garnish)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, for garnish
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- On a large roasting pan, drizzle the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, and roast until browned and fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
- While the sweet potatoes are cooking, in a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Sauté the garlic and onions for 10 minutes. Add the roasted sweet potatoes, bay leaves, and broth, and raise the heat to medium-high. Bring to a low boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- In a small skillet, cook the chorizo until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat, and add about ⅓ cup of the cream from the top of the refrigerated can of coconut milk (leave a few tablespoons for topping). Stir well, and carefully purée the soup using either an immersion blender or countertop blender. (If using a countertop blender, blend in batches and hold a clean dishtowel over the lid while blending to avoid hot soup eruptions.)
- In a small bowl, beat the extra coconut cream with a whisk or hand mixer until fluffy.
- Pour the soup into serving bowls, and top with whipped coconut cream and 3 to 4 pieces each of crispy chorizo. Garnish with the chives, and serve.
VARIATION 1 SPICY SWEET POTATO SOUP: Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to the soup, depending on how spicy you’d like it to be.
VARIATION 2 SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH BACON: If you can’t find (or don’t like) chorizo, fry 3 or 4 slices bacon and chop them up for the soup topping.
PREP TIP: Always keep a can of coconut milk in your fridge. Whenever I start cooking a recipe that calls for coconut cream, I’m always in trouble; because it’s a canned product, I keep forgetting that it needs to be refrigerated overnight to get the cream off the top. If you just keep a can in the fridge at all times, you’ll always be ready for any recipe that calls for it!
