SWEET POTATO AND ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER SOUP FROM SAINT LUCIA

 
 

This is the first meal we ate on touching down in Saint Lucia after a long flight and a long delay! We made it to Rabot Hotel by Hotel Chocolat, where I’m hosting my East by West retreat, after sun down and despite an upside down day of eating and snacking, and a totally disrupted routine, we still felt like we needed to eat something before we turned in for the night. The hotel restaurant sent us a flask of the soup of the day which turned out to not only be delicious (both children loved it) but perfect for grounding our aggravated Vata doshas from all the travel and airport trouble we had experienced. Creamy sweet potato soup flavoured with roasted red peppers, the usual aromatics and just the right amount of black pepper to soothe our bellies. I asked for the recipe next morning to share here - a really easy and simple soup thankfully using ingredients that are readily available from local supermarkets. In Saint Lucia, where sweet potatoes form one of the main crops in the Caribbean - a nutrient packed superfood that produces more biomass and nutrients per hectare than any other food crop - they have purple, white, yellow and orange fleshed varieties. In this recipe the yellow fleshed variety was used so to try and replicate the texture and flavour as much as possible, I’ve substituted a mix of the  orange sweet potato, which is more readily available in the UK, as well as white potatoes.


INGREDIENTS 

260g of sweet potato (approx 2 medium sized), washed and roughly chopped

170g of starchy potato such as King Edward or Russet, washed and roughly chopped

2 red bell peppers*

1 stick of celery, finely chopped 

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1 small onion, sliced

⅓ cup coconut milk

2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste

2 pinches black pepper, to taste

Small handful of chopped chives

1 tbs of coconut oil or ghee

1 litre of water


METHOD

  1. Preheat the grill to medium high, about 200° C, and grill the whole peppers until the skin is slightly blistered, turning occasionally for about 5 minutes. 

  2. Remove the peppers and place in a bowl. Cover with a lid/plate so that the steam from residual heat allows the skin to peel off more easily. Leave for about 10 minutes before trying to tackle this so you don’t burn yourself!

  3. Meanwhile, prep the rest of the vegetables and ingredients.

  4. Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of coconut oil or ghee

  5. Combine the onion, celery, garlic and chives in the pan and sautee until the onions are translucent

  6. Add the roasted red peppers, diced potato and sweet potato, water, salt and pepper

  7. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the biggest piece of potato is tender

  8. Add the coconut milk

  9. Blend until smooth and strain if you want it extra smooth and silky

  10. Add more water if you like to reach your desired consistency, and adjust seasoning to taste.

East by West tips:

*Any colour of sweet bell pepper will do! Red is the sweetest, followed by orange and yellow.  Green is less ripe and therefore more bitter so will add a different flavour (and colour! to the soup) 

You can of course just use all sweet potato, and any colour at that. And play with the herbs and spices to make the soup you’re own and using up what’s available

Jasmine Hemsley