Sweet Potato Soup

Sometimes when I sit and stair outside at the cold weather, I imagine different soups. Or to be more specific, I imagine different vegetables into soups. The standard tomato, carrot, butternut squash and even red pepper soups have been covered. I can't imagine that celery would make a good soup. Granted, I'm only considering the creamy soups and not things like chicken noodle. But what about sweet potato? They're good straight up, as fries, as casseroles, so why not soup?

Commence internet searches and voila! Sweet potato soup is in fact a thing. I realized after the fact that I neglected to add some things like spinach (consciously decided I didn't need to jam pack this with veggies) and coconut milk (that was completely accidental). I'm glad these forgetful episodes happen because it gets back to the whole reason I started this blog and that was to prove you can't go wrong even when you're wrong.

So for this recipe, we're using giant sweet potatoes, some earthy radishes, half an onion and curry for flavoring and topping it with sriracha sauce because why not? And it needed a little kick.

First things first: lots of chopping. A mandolin would be really useful when chopping radishes, they're quite small. I wondered what they tasted like the last time I used them (honestly can't remember what I was using them for) and they really don't taste like anything. So I guess I'll need to experiment with them more. The radishes, chopped onion, garlic and curry powder are combined in a pot with some olive oil over medium heat and cooked until the radishes become more translucent. You don't need to see all the way through them but they soften nicely.

Next, diced sweet potatoes are added and everything is covered in broth. Initially, this is where the recipe called for water and coconut milk but I decided broth was a better choice. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Once the sweet potatoes are soft, you can blend the life out of everything with an immersion blender (or carefully with a regular one). I usually end up using the pot lid as a shield from all the splatter but no surface is safe from the immersion blender.

Add a splash of sriracha sauce when you're ready to serve. Alternatively, you can add red pepper flakes or chili powder to the soup while it's cooking for an extra kick. As with all soups, consume in a delicious mug on a rainy day, curled up on a couch. Or in your office to warm up.

Recipe

• 2 lbs. sweet potatoes, diced 
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 cup of radishes, sliced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• Sprinkling of black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• One box of broth (enough to cover everything)
• Sriracha sauce (optional)

1. In a large pot, combine the olive oil, diced onion, sliced radishes and spices. Heat over medium heat and cook until the onion and radishes appear slightly translucent.
2. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Add to the large pot and cover all with the broth. 
3. Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and leave on low heat until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Carefully use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it's smooth. You can also blend in a regular blender in batches.
5. Top with sriracha sauce for an added kick.