SNEAKY SWEET POTATO SOUP
Happy Friday!
Only 10 more days until Christmas and 5 days left of Hanukkah.
We are in full winter-mode here in Florida. We’ve had a number of ‘cold’ fronts which keep us chickens (aka me) inside with the heat on. Pathetic I know but it offers a welcome opportunity to cook lovely, warming soups to take away the chill.
This soup was put together without much thought – I just used the ingredients I had on hand and think the results were really good so I’m sharing the recipe here.
What’s so sneaky about it?
ingredients
- Cashew Cream is like dairy cream but with happy cows. It is super easy to make with just 3 ingredients – soaked cashews, vegetable broth and cornstarch. I will forever be indebted to Isa Chandra Moskowitz and her cookbook Isa Does It for turning me onto this lovely creamy sauce used in soup, pasta dishes and even desserts. Cashews are a good source of heart-protective monounsaturated fats similar to those found in olive oil.
- Sweet Potatoes were used instead of white potatoes. While I often use white potatoes for soups like – Potato Leek Soup and Clam-ish Chowder and also for dishes like Mashed Potatoes, the healthier sweet potato version works well in this recipe. Sweet potatoes have more fiber and are lower on the glycemic index (a ranking of carbohydrates in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels) than white potatoes. They are also a great source of beta carotene noted by their bright orange color. Beta carotene can be either converted into vitamin A or act as an antioxidant to fight free radicals.
- Carrots are another great source of beta carotene. You absorb more beta carotene when you consume fat in the same meal. This soup contains the fat we need in the form of oil and cashews to allow for a high uptake of beta carotene.
- Dried Edible Seaweed also known as nori, dulse or kombu is an excellent source of iodine and other vitamins and minerals like magnesium, zinc, iron, folate, calcium, selenium as well as antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids. For most of us, this is an excellent food to include in our diets. However, if you have a thyroid problem, you need to watch your iodine intake. *see side note at the end of this post if you have thyroid issues.
- Nutritional yeast is a great vegan source of vitamin B12.
- Cayenne Pepper which comes from red chilis, is a heart-healthy food and has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol, triglyceride levels, and platelet aggregation, while increasing the body’s ability to dissolve fibrin, a substance integral to the formation of blood clots – source World’s Healthiest Foods.
This soup requires some seasoning in the end to get the right flavor but that is part of the fun of making soups. While I often omit tomato paste or lemon juice recommended in some soup recipes, I really think a little acidity is necessary in this case. A little acidity can make a flat soup come to life.
Here is the recipe. Let me know how it comes out by leaving a comment in the below comments section. Have a beautiful weekend! Jingle Jingle!
Ingredients
- for the soup:
- 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil or organic expeller-pressed canola oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- 2 medium to large sweet potatoes scrubbed and skins on - chopped into one inch chunks
- 2-3 medium carrots, scrubbed and skins on - chopped
- 3 cups (or more) vegetable broth
- 2 sheets nori crumbled
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- salt & pepper to taste
- for the cashew cream:
- 1 cup of raw cashews soaks for 2-8 hours in spring water
- 1 cup of vegetable broth
- 4 teaspoons of corn starch
- *organic ingredients are always recommended if your budget allows
Instructions
- In a large soup pot heat oil to medium and add chopped onion, garlic, carrots and a dash of salt to cook until onions are translucent - about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the potatoes, nori and nutritional yeast and cover with vegetable broth (if you like a thinner soup then add a little more broth).
- Heat to a boil then turn down to a simmer, cover and cook until potatoes are soft but be careful not to overcook.
- Once potatoes are cooked, let the soup rest for a minute or two uncovered then mash everything with a potato masher right inside the pot until you get the consistency you want. You can use an immersion blender if you want a smoother soup but I prefer this one on the chunky side. You may have to mash for a bit to get the potato skins to break down.
- Drain the cashews and blend them in a stand up blender with the cornstarch and 1 cup of vegetable broth until smooth - this could take several minutes.
- Add cashew cream to the soup and continue to simmer for 5-7 minutes until your soup starts to thicken.
- Taste and add salt and pepper as needed plus a dash or two of cayenne.
- Finish it off by stirring in the tomato paste and lemon juice. Adjust seasonings. Add more nutritional yeast if you like. It gives it a little more of a cheesy flavor.
- Enjoy!
*Seaweed/Iodine/Thyroid Issues Side Note: If you have a thyroid issue, it may not mean you have to avoid seaweed, which is considered a superfood due to its high content of vitamins and minerals. Seaweed is a staple in the Japanese diet. Goitrogens, such as such as broccoli, cabbage, bok choi and soy, when eaten along with seaweed inhibit the update of iodine by the thyroid gland. Click here for as assessment on iodine intake in Japan by the US National Library of Medicine which concludes that Japanese iodine intake from seaweed is linked to health benefits not seen in cultures with dissimilar diets. The Japanese live longer than people in the US and have less deaths due to cancer and heart disease. However, if you have a specific issue, e.g. thyroid in this case, always do your own research and consult a health specialist before consuming a food that may have a negative affect on your health. Food is healing but knowledge is power.
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