Hot, good and easy. I'm talking about soup.

Elise,

                It’s winter in paleo land.  Soup meets three of the four criteria for winter dinner- good, hot, easy. The fourth criterion is all-done-even-the-dishes-by-6:30. This is so I can be a member in good standing of the HBN (horizontal by nine) club. I’m thinking of fomenting a schism in the ranks of HBN and creating a fundamentalist off shoot called HBE. At any rate, if the dish meets the first three, then the last one comes down to pilot performance.

                Slow cookers are wonderful for soup. Homemade stock is sine qua non.  A hand held blender can make your life so much easier and more pleasant. It removes that pour-the-scalding-liquid-into-a-narrow-mouthed-blender step and the dirty-two-pots-because-you-have-to-blend-in-two-batches step. Just remember our 11/3/11 cautionary tale and unplug the blender every time you turn it off or you might be adding in the trip-to-the-emergency-room step not to mention the come-home-to-a blood-spattered-kitchen-and-have-to clean-it up-before-bed step.

                One of my go-to soups this time of year, really any time of year except full summer, is Curried Sweet Potato Soup. It’s a three season soup. 

 

                Good—curried sweet potatoes, say no more.

                Hot—duh.

                Easy—peel and slice the potatoes, cook them in broth and coconut milk, as some curry paste or powder and some grated ginger, blend when soft. Finish with salt and pepper.

                While this might sound pretty tame, it’s not. If you are still feeling underwhelmed, you can dress this soup up with a myriad of sides, garnishes, accompaniments and additions. Toasted sliced almonds, raisins, sautéed bananas, chopped crystallized ginger, chutney all go well on the side.   

 

You can add spinach or kale and double your superfoods. You can add some cooked ground turkey for a third superfood or shrimp sautéed in ginger and garlic if you have a little more time on your hands.

                His Lordship thinks it tastes like candy. 

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced

2 cans coconut milk

6 cups chicken broth

2 TB grated fresh ginger or more to taste

1-4 TB curry powder or paste. This is vague because curry powders and pastes vary spectacularly and you have to know yours and add accordingly

                Put the first four ingredients in a pot and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft. Stir in the curry. Blend until soft.

                Tart it up with toasted sliced almonds, raisins, sautéed bananas, chopped crystallized ginger, chutney. Health it up with some cooking greens and/or cooked ground meat.