I’m often amazed by flavors.
Sitting around my kitchen are dozens of food sensations, just waiting to be revealed.
Mix a little of this with a little of that and BAM!, you’ve got something great.
Last night’s dinner was a little like that.
Modest little sweet potato and his color companion, pumpkin were just waiting to be made into something flashy.
That’s certainly what happened.
Sweet, spicy, aromatic soup.
Sweet Potato, Pumpkin and Coconut Soup
Makes 4 large servings~ Adapted from this recipe
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 red chilies, sliced (or to taste)
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 average sized organic Hokkaido pumpkin,cut into chunks (deseed but don’t peel)
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into chunks
- 750ml (a bit less than 3 1/4 cups) vegetable stock
- 200ml (a bit less than 1 cup) coconut milk
- 2 heaped tsps of curry powder (or curry paste)
- Fresh arugula, parsley or cilantro to garnish
- Slivered almonds
Method
1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the onions, chili, ginger and garlic until soft.
2. Add the pumpkin and sweet potatoes to the pan and sprinkle with the curry powder. Fry gently for another few minutes.
3. Pour in the coconut milk and stock, cover, bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer gently until the potatoes and pumpkin are cooked.
4. Blend the soup using a submersion blender or allow it to cool down a little then pour the soup into a blender and blend at high speed till smooth and creamy.
5. Reheat a little if necessary and serve with some fresh greens and slivered almonds. Delicious served with hot naan bread.
This morning we woke up to snow on the ground. I had hoped the ‘wintery’ part of winter was over but wasn’t so lucky.
The photo above is from 2 mornings ago. Every day before work I go out on the emergency exit balcony and take in the view. The few minutes I spend out there are precious to me, especially on days like this when I can’t help but feel like God has created a beautiful sight just to get me in the right frame of mind for the day.
I hope to keep this positive frame of mind over the weekend as I write reports for my students. Wish me luck.
I hope you all have a great Friday tomorrow.
Eating Abroad
