Sweet Potato & Pear Soup with Sage

By SAEB

from: http://www.loveandlemons.com/2012/01/10/sweet-potato-pear-soup/

adapted from Sassy Radish

Ingredients

• coconut-yogurt cream (optional):
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 large sweet potato (or enough to equal just shy of 1 pound)
• 1 ripe pear, peeled and chopped
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (I used regular, light would also work)
• 4 sage leaves
• 1/4 cup yogurt (I like skyr icelandic yogurt, greek, or soy would be fine too)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (regular or light)
• squeeze of lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• pinch of salt, to taste

Details

Servings 3
Adapted from loveandlemons.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400. Poke holes in the sweet potato, wrap in foil, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until fork tender. (really depends on the size of your potato.

When the sweet potato is done, let cool slightly (until it’s cool enough to touch), peel, and cut into cubes (they will be messy cubes). In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Stir in garlic, garam masala and paprika and cook for one minute. Add cooked potato cubes, uncooked pear cubes and cook for two minutes. Add water, salt, sage and cayenne. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes.

Transfer mixture (work in batches if you need to) to a large blender and puree. Stir in coconut milk and taste for seasonings. Add more salt, or additional spices to your liking. If it’s too thick, add some more water, if you want it creamier add more coconut milk. I think I added a pinch more of paprika but keep in mind that if you plan to save some of the soup for another day, the flavors intensify quite a bit. Serving this immediately, it had a sweet, distinct pear flavor. Reheating it the next night, (after being in the fridge for about 24 hours) it was more rich and spiced… still sweet, but less pear-y.

Store any remaining soup in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze. On the second day, it also got a lot thicker, so I added some more water before reheating.

For yogurt-coconut cream, mix all ingredients together and taste and adjust. Serve on the side.