Savory Sweet Potato Soup with Turmeric and Lemon

Sweet potatoes are everywhere in the fall season. The bright color and texture make them the perfect starting ingredient for a savory and delicious early winter soup. I make this soup weekly. It is delicious, hardy, and easy for a weeknight meal.

Serve it alone, with rice, or topped with sauteed greens or a fried egg. Anyway you serve it, everyone will be asking for more.

This recipe makes four hearty bowls of soup and takes about an hour start to finish with cooking time.

Get started by gathering up these ingredients.

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 cups finely diced onions

• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced

• 3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

• Enough vegetable stock to cover the potatoes (about 4 cups)

• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 of a 14-ounce can full cream coconut milk

• juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

• 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley leaves

Add butter to a thick bottomed stock pot or dutch oven and heat to medium-high. Allow butter to melt and begin to brown (not allowing to burn) before adding the onions and garlic. Stir to coat the onions and garlic with the slightly browned butter and reduce the heat to medium. Sauté the onions and garlic until fragrant and slightly translucent, about five to six minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and stir to combine.

Cover the sweet potatoes onion mixture with broth so that the broth is just above the ingredients but potatoes are submerged. Add the crushed red pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, ground coriander, and ground ginger. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer the soup until the potatoes are soft enough to smash with a spoon, about 20-30 minutes.

Once the potatoes are soft, use a potato masher or an immersion blender to roughly smash the sweet potatoes into a thick, but a bit chunky, mash. Add the coconut milk and stir to combine. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, and parsley and stir to combine. Cook the soup on low for an additional five minutes to mature the flavors of the lemon. Add salt to taste.

Serve in big bowls plane or topped with rice, spinach sautéed in butter, or a fried egg with lots of black pepper.

I prefer this soup to be think and chunky. You can add additional coconut milk if you prefer a thinner consistency.