Perky Sweet Potato Soup with Caramelized Onions, Ginger, and Curry (vegan)

by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~

Luckily I found purple sweet potatoes, but any color will work just as well.

Bursting with protein and a rainbow of nutrients, this soup could be a meal all by itself. Otherwise the lilt of ginger and spices make it fit smoothly into the simplest or most elaborate feast, perking up any romantic evening. (recipe below)

🙂 Diva Tip: Want additional recipes for a yummy, healthy, romantic vegan feast? Click here for a four-course menu, recipes links, and a little article about who inspired it. Hint: Rescue Diva’s hunni and hero.  😉

PERKY SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS, GINGER, AND CURRY (romantic vegan recipe)

Makes 4 servings, or about 6 – 8 cups

Ingredients:

4 medium size sweet potatoes or yams (about 3 cups after baked and mashed)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions—red, white, or yellow (about 2 cups chopped)

3-4 cups vegetable stock (according to desired thickness)

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2-4 teaspoons curry powder (to taste)

2-4 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (to taste)

2 cups unsalted pumpkin seeds

Optional: ¼ cup maca powder

Optional: salt (to taste)

The aroma of onions cooking can be quite appetizing.

Garnish suggestions:

½ cup unsalted pumpkin seeds

Sprigs of fresh herbs such as oregano, basil, parsley, or cilantro

Sliced baby sweet peppers, chopped onion, grated ginger, edible flowers

🙂 Diva Tip: We got lucky and found purple sweet potatoes in time for these photos—joy!—but any color will do nicely.

Instructions:

1. Rinse and scrub sweet potatoes. Bake at 370 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30-40 minutes till soft and easily pierced with a fork. Let cool, then peel.

2. In a large saute pan gently heat oil over medium heat, add onions, stir, and keep cooking and stirring till they turn a nice rich brown color. You can work on other things while the onions are browning, but frequent stirring (at least once per minute) is essential to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. The browning process might take 20-30 minutes or perhaps more, depending on the heat of your stove and other factors.

Hubsy (The Saint) is a big fan of soups, and heartily approved of this one.

3. In a blender or food processor, add sweet potatoes, onions, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and curry powder (and optional maca powder, if desired). Add vegetable stock 1 cup at a time to control your desired thickness. Blend or process only till smooth and creamy.

🙂 Diva Tip: If you store the soup in the refrigerator for more than a few hours before serving, it might thicken a bit, so that you’ll need to add a little more vegetable stock if you want a more liquid consistency.

🙂 Diva Tip: If you choose to use the optional maca powder, add ½-1 cup more vegetable stock.

4. Add the 2 cups of pumpkin seeds. Stir by hand.

5. To serve, heat desired portions, season additionally according to taste with more curry powder and/or salt, and garnish each portion.

🙂 Diva Tip: May be made ahead and stored in refrigerator for up to two days or in freezer for a long time.

Bon appetit from Rescue Diva!

ROMANTIC VEGAN FEAST—MENU

(click each dish’s name for recipes)

Zesty Vegan Aphrodisiac Appetizer Dip Platter

Perky Vegan Sweet Potato Soup with Caramelized Onions, Ginger, and Curry

Sultry Vegan Stack of Eggplant, Squash, and Mushroom with Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto-Coulis

Silky Chocolate Banana Almond Fudge Meltdown

Fun info:  24 Aphrodisiac ingredients for a romantic vegan feast

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Enjoy a fun read, spice up your life, and help replenish our rescue fund!  🙂

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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Her fiction includes 17 novels for Simon and Schuster, E.P. Dutton, Avon, and other major publishers (under the name Kathryn Makris), as well as a teleplay for CBS-TV, and a short story for The Bark magazine. She has written hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, Animal Issues Reporter.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press), coming soon in digital format!