Sweet potato & coconut South Seas soup

By: Kerstin Rodgers
From: V is for Vegan
Serves: 4

I made a scaled-up version of this soup at music festival Bestival when I did a desert island/pirate/18th-century shipboard-inspired pop-up. We had a seashanty band, rigging in the tent, napkins made from map fabric (‘mapkins’), maps as menus, vintage globes and costumes created especially for the crew. Bawdy singing and rum were the order of the day.

I have to admit, cooking in a field is a challenge. For a start, at festivals, none of the staff want to work much. They want to be out there, having fun with everyone else. Oh, I give long, stern lectures beforehand about how they are getting paid and they must be professional. This lecture never works. Luckily, this is a simple soup to make, so I managed to serve it to 800 people without TOO much sweat.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
50-75ml	vegetable or palm oil
1	red onion, diced
4	garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1	red chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped
5 cm piece	ginger, peeled and very finely chopped
1 teaspoon	toasted coriander seeds, freshly ground
1 teaspoon	ground turmeric
pinch	saffron strands
2 sticks	lemongrass, very thinly sliced
1	red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
1	large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 4–5 cm cubes
2 x 400 ml tins	coconut milk
1	lime, juiced, plus extra to serve
100g	spinach
	sea salt
	coriander leaves, to serve
	Coconut, lime & chilli sambal, to garnish

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook until softened, then add the garlic, chilli, ginger, ground coriander, turmeric, saffron, lemongrass and 1 tablespoon sea salt. Stir well, then add the red pepper and sweet potato and fry until lightly golden around the edges.
Add the coconut milk and lime juice and simmer for 10–15 minutes, adding the spinach just before the end; it will wilt in the heat of the soup. Season to taste with salt.
Ladle into bowls, add more lime juice and the coriander and serve with the sambal below.

Tags:: Vegan

Sweet potato & coconut South Seas soup

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