Sweet Potato Coconut Milk Soup & Bright Beet Apple Salad
Savory, creamy sweet potato coconut milk soup meets tangy, crisp, bright beet apple salad. It's the perfect marriage of cozy and light. During the winter months I'm consumed with thoughts of hearty fare and grounding foods. Roasted roots, protein-rich grains, stews, chilis, soups. I can barely bring myself to think about eating something cold. Tis the season of cooked things, of course. But I still need the energetic brightness of raw foods occasionally. I get this nagging voice at the back of my mind like "dude eat some raw foods SERIOUSLY put down the cookie and shove some beets in your face."
So to quell the yogi/nutritionist/mom inside of me, I've been combining my cooked foods with raw foods. It's a happy medium, I think. I get all of those vibey raw enzymes and living nutrition from the raw stuff. And I get the comforting hug of cooked foods making my heart and belly smile. Win win.
Sweet Potato Coconut Milk Soup
This sweet potato coconut milk soup with bright beet apple salad is my absolute favorite iteration of raw + cooked food in perfect harmony. The smooth soup is a great contrast to the crunchy brightness of the beet apple salad. Trust me, they're a match made in heaven. And damn if it ain't really easy and quick to throw together in a crunch. Which is basically everyday amiright?
Happy holidays! I hope you all have a safe and magical Winter solstice!
- 1/2 sweet white onion, sliced thinly
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly into rounds
- 5-6 waxy golden potatoes, eyes removed and sliced thinly
- 2 sun dried tomatoes, minced (about 1.5 tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup sweet white vermouth or sweet white wine
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1 13 oz can full fat coconut milk (about 2 cups)
- 2-3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt + more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground
- garnish: best quality extra virgin olive oil
- Place a soup pot over medium high heat. Once it's good and hot, add the onions and ghee/coconut oil and sauté for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to brown. Add the sweet potato, potato, sun dried tomato, vermouth/wine, apple cider, coconut milk, water and rice vinegar. Add 2-3 cups of water (less if you prefer a thicker soup, more if you prefer a thinner soup). Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the sweet potato & potato are soft and fork-tender. Add the salt (plus more to your liking) and black pepper. Remove from heat. Using a metal immersion blender, blend the soup in the pot until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you might let the soup cool for 10 minutes and blend it in batches in a high powered blender. Serve hot with a swirl of best quality extra virgin olive oil + topped with the Bright Beet Salad!
- 1 large beet, peeled and sliced into thin 2" matchsticks
- 1 cup packed fresh parsley, chopped roughly
- 1 small crisp apple, cored and sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground, plus more to taste
- In a large bowl, toss together the beet, parsley, apple, rice vinegar, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.