Sweet potato/kumara and red pepper soup

 

This is a pretty soup, with a West Indian feel to it.  I prefer to make it with orange or yellow sweet potato or kumara.

Use 1/3 seawater to 2/3 fresh, if the sea is clean, and leave out the salt.

 

Serves 2 for a main course, 4 for a starter 

 

Ingredients 

 

2 red peppers

 2 large or 1 very large sweet potato/kumara

1 onion

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 litre water

2 tbsp cream of coconut

salt and pepper

lime or lemon juice

Method:

• Heat the peppers over a flame until the skins bubble and then peel them.
• Peel and dice the sweet potatoes, dice the onion. (I don't usually peel kumara.)
• Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and cook the kumara and onion over a medium heat, for about 10 minutes.
• Chop the pepper and add them to the other vegetables along with the thyme and cumin; mix well.
• Add the water, bring to the boil and pressure cook for 10 minutes. When the pressure has reduced, mash with a potato masher or stick blender, until the vegetables are reduced to a purée.  Leave it chunkier, if you prefer.
• Return to the heat and stir in the cream of coconut. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and add lime or lemon juice.

 Variations:

• Add some chilli if you want a spicier soup.
• Add coconut milk if you don't have any cream of coconut.  If you are going to blend the soup, you could even add dried coconut.
• Use salted lime or lemon, instead of the juice, but go easy on the salt.