24
Thai Sweet Potato Soup
with Coriander Pesto
Prep 25 minutes / Cook 35 minutes
Serves 6
400ml can coconut milk
1.5kg sweet potato, peeled and cut into 5cm pieces
1½ litres chicken stock
Fish sauce, to taste
Mixed leaf salad, to serve
Red Curry Paste
1 teaspoon shrimp paste (belacan), optional
10 dried long red chillies, seeds removed
2 cm piece galangal, peeled, thinly sliced
1 lemongrass, white part only, roughly sliced
6–7 coriander roots, scraped
6 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and sliced thinly
2 red shallots, halved
6 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1–2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Corriander Pesto
1 cup coriander leaves (approximately 2 bunches)
¼ cup blanched almonds
1 small red shallot
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
1.
To make the curry paste: Wrap shrimp paste in
a piece of aluminium foil. Cook under a hot grill
and cook for 1–2 minutes each side. Place chillies
in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water;
soak for approximately 15 minutes or until
softened. Assemble food processor with the
mini processing bowl and mini blade inserted.
Combine shrimp paste, chillies and remaining
red curry paste ingredients into the mini bowl
and process until finely chopped.
2.
Open can of coconut milk without shaking;
spoon the firm coconut into a large saucepan
and cook, stirring over a medium high heat until
the coconut milk separates. Add the curry paste
to the pan and cook, stirring, until the paste
becomes fragrant.
TIPS
If you can’t buy coconut milk that has a firm top omit
this step and use 1 tablespoon oil and add all coconut
milk in step 5.
3.
Add sweet potato and stock to the pan and bring
to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about
20 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft.
4.
Meanwhile, combine the coriander pesto
ingredients into the mini processing bowl and
process until combined. Season to taste.
5.
Once the sweet potato is soft, add remaining
coconut milk to the saucepan and allow soup
to cool.
6.
Insert Quad blade into the processor bowl;
carefully spoon soup into bowl. Place lid on
processor. Process soup until smooth; scrape
down sides if necessary. Return pureed soup to
saucepan to reheat; adjust the salt levels of the
soup with fish sauce to taste.
7.
To serve ladle soup into bowls and spoon
coriander pesto into the soup. Stir through and
squeeze fresh lime to taste.
Serve with mixed leaf salad.
