Tuesday, July 31, 2012

I ❤ Food: Roasted Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup



I love, love, LOVEEEEE sweet potatoes and coconuts.  
After finding a recipe in Larissa Green's 'Love Green Food' which combined both these ingredients in a delicious soup, I decided to tweak it just a bit to suit my taste buds.

This is PERFECT for these chilly Winter evenings! This soup makes a great alternative to the traditional haleem that everyone drinks copious amounts of during Ramadan!


Ingredients:

  •   2-3 medium sweet potatoes, diced.
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Teaspoon honey
  • 1 Teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon ghee
  • Salt to taste
  • Black Pepper to taste
  • 1 Teaspoon ground red chilli (add a little bit more if you want a ‘kick’)
  • 1 Teaspoon Robertsons Thai spice
  • 2-3 leeks chopped – chop the white part only
  • 2 cloves garlic – chopped
  • 1 Teaspoon ginger – chopped
  • 750ml – 1 litre vegetable stock.  This really depends on how thick you want your soup to be, I used 3 Ina Paarman sachets, and went according to the instructions, but added a little bit of extra water.
  •  ½ cup  / small can coconut milk
  • Parsley and toasted coconut shavings for garnishing (optional)

Method:

1)  Preheat oven to 220°C.
2)  Mix olive oil, honey, vinegar and sweet potatoes in an oven proof dish.
3)  Roast in the oven until it caramelizes.  +/- 10 minutes. 
4)  In a pot, heat the ghee on medium heat and add the leaks. 
5)  Add ginger, garlic and the rest of the spices.
6)  Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
7)  Reduce heat.
8)  By now the sweet potato should be done.  If it is still a bit hard, not to worry, add it to the pot and cook until the sweet potato is softer.
9)  Switch off the heat and leave to cool for a bit.
10)  Puree with a stick blender or regular blender.
11)  Reheat in the pot and add coconut milk.
12)  Garnish with fresh parsley, toasted coconut shavings and crackers (optional).
13)  Enjoy!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Ramadan

Ramadan Kareem!  It's already Day 6 of Ramadan.  I can't believe how fast this fast is going (haha).  I've been quite busy this side.  Studying, volunteer work and other commitments have taken up most of my time and I don't see much of an end in sight!  However, I did manage to brainstorm some ideas and I'm glad to say that there are definitely some new developments on this side :)  In the mean time, here's a sneak peek on something in the works...