Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
In past years, I’ve posted various manifestations of philosophical Turkey Day thinking, in an expression of gratitude for all of you and for the artistic life we get to lead. This year is a very different Thanksgiving for me, so let’s try this:
I’d like to share a recipe with you that has become a family favorite, and a surprise at that. More than a decade ago, my mom and I decided we wanted to turn the traditional glazed yams on their head, and made our version of West African Sweet Potato Soup, instead. While we’re both fully capable of cooking this from scratch, we’ve tried it both ways, and it’s actually just as good and FAR quicker to use canned yams and whip it up with an immersion blender. (That’s the stick thing in your kitchen that has a wickedly sharp, whirring blade at the end.) If you’re comfortable in the kitchen and have everything handy, this can be made in about twenty minutes, beginning to end. If you’re a newbie cook or like to prep carefully, it will still come together very quickly. There are hundreds of similar recipes online, and while you may like yours spicier or creamier or nuttier, we won’t judge. This can easily be made vegetarian, dairy-free, nut-free, and/or gluten-free, as needed. Create your own version and your relatives will be licking the bowl. Here’s ours:
West African Sweet Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic, fresh or in oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/8 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 large can canned sweet potatoes (unglazed/without sugar), drained
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 dash black pepper
- (optional) fresh cilantro leaves, minced
- (optional) chopped peanuts
- (optional) plain yogurt
Directions
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, onion and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring together and raising the heat to medium-high. Stir frequently and cook until the onions have softened and released their juice (about 5 min).
Stir in garlic, coriander and chipotle until the aroma is all around you (which should only take about a minute). Add broth, water, yams, peanut butter and black pepper and combine thoroughly.
Raise the heat to high and bring the whole thing to a boil. Reduce heat to low and check the yams — they should be very tender (but of course when using canned, they’re already almost there). Turn off the heat and let cool a little, maybe four minutes. Grab your immersion blender/stick blender and process everything until uniformly creamy.
Serve immediately, garnishing each bowl with cilantro, peanuts and/or yogurt as you wish.
The soup can theoretically be refrigerated for a couple of days and reheated gently over medium-low heat, but we’ve never had a chance to test that theory. Every time we have made this dish, it has disappeared in seconds and thirds.