KYN Coconut Sweet Potato Soup

Recipe

Vegan & Gluten-Free

Serves 6-8

Soup connects us.  It's at the heart of so many cultures and traditions.

We grew up with soup on Sundays, after church.  The whole family would gather around the table at Grandma’s farm and we would fill our bowls from her never-ending pot.  Bread with butter, cheese, and sweet pickles usually accompanied the meal and we weren’t allowed to eat until someone said grace.

Soup is family.  Soup is community.  Soup is love.

This soup was one of our staple meals at our cafe.  We made a lot of people happy with these bowls of love.  Ready to taste the most delicious soup ever? Somewhere between the coconut, the roasted vegetables, the peanut butter, and the lemon and cilantro, this soup is an experience for the taste buds. Enjoy it on its own or add a side of rice for a more filling meal.

Ingredients:

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

1 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

1 bunch cilantro

3 tsp salt

3 cracks of black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

8 cups water

2-3 sweet potatoes

2 handfuls chopped kale

2 spring onion

2 cans of coconut milk

1 lemon, juiced

1 chunk fresh ginger, juiced (3 tbsp ginger juice)

3-4 tbsp maple syrup

4 tbsp unsweetened peanut butter

Directions:

1. Set oven to 400F and prepare a baking sheet with oil, parchment paper, or silicone baking mat.

2. Rinse, peel and chop sweet potatoes.  Spread onto your prepared baking tray and drizzle with olive oil and sea salt.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until a little golden brown.

4. While potatoes are baking, peel and chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic.  Chop half the bunch of cilantro.

5. In a large pot, drizzle olive oil and add the chopped vegetables over medium to high heat.  Add a pinch of sea salt and a crack of pepper and stir.  Continue stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes, until onions are translucent.

6. Add 7-8 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

7. While the broth is simmering, juice the ginger (using a ginger grater or juicer) and the lemon (can use a hand citrus press).

8. Chop the remaining cilantro and the spring onions and remove the stem and chop kale if not already pre-chopped.

9. When the sweet potatoes are baked, add them to the pot.  Add the remaining chopped veggies, ¾ of the lemon juice, all of the ginger juice, 2 cans of coconut milk, and 4 tbsp peanut butter.

10. Stir until well blended.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

11. Garnish with Cilantro and serve!