My poor, lonely sage plant has been out in our backyard enduring the bitter cold and barely surviving. With the frost on its way, I knew his days were numbered (at least for this season, I think it is a perennial) so I plucked the last of the leaves.
I have always liked sage with sweet potatoes and I am still on a roasted vegetable soup kick so I turned to Google to see what I could turn up. Immediately, I came upon a food blog I had not yet discovered, Local Lemons. A quick scan of her roasted sweet potato soup and I knew my search had ended. A can of coconut milk from the back of my pantry that seemed as lonely as the sage plant was overjoyed to enter the mix.
Perhaps I am a little crazy but I have a unique habit of applying human emotion to food. Whether right or wrong, food conjures in me such emotion, maybe I have just opened the exchange sending emotion right back at my inanimate ingredients. Whatever the case may be, I am quite sure I enjoyed the soup even more because I was so sure that the last cold, feeble sage leaves were as happy to be in my soup as that old, dusty can of coconut milk. They both enjoyed a little time in the spotlight before finding their final resting place, down the hatch.
I didn’t take the time to fry the sage leaves but I suggest you do! Not only will it make your kitchen smell delicious, the texture and flavor will provide a perfect charm for the top of the soup.
Roasted Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut Milk and Fried Sage
Serves 5 Cook time: About 1 hour
3 ½ pounds organic sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 can coconut milk
3-4 cups homemade or high-quality chicken stock
1 bunch organic fresh sage
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 large shallots, peeled and chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
Preheat your oven to 425F. Arrange sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle on about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add salt and pepper, and toss with your hands to coat. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes after 25 minutes.
Finely chop about 6 sage leaves. Pour coconut milk into a small space pan, and throw in chopped sage. Cook on low heat until it simmers, and take off heat. Set aside.
Heat up a Dutch oven on medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add shallots and cook for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking for 2 more minutes. Throw in roasted sweet potatoes and stir. Cook for 5 minutes. Lower heat and add coconut milk – stir – and add 2 cups of chicken stock. Continue to stir, breaking up the sweet potatoes with the back of your spoon. Stir in the rest of the chicken stock, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Add a sprinkle of salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Pour soup into a food processor and puree until smooth. When serving, drizzle on high-quality olive oil and top with fried sage.
Fried Sage Leaves:
Heat up olive oil in a small cast iron pan. Add sage leaves and cook for one minute. Drain on a paper towel.
December 6th, 2009 at 7:52 pm
[...] Sweet Potato Soup with Coconut Milk and Sage [...]
December 6th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
This looks great! I’ve hung out with Allison from Local Lemons a few times, and she’s wonderful. I’m looking forward to trying this recipe this week!
December 7th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Local Lemons is a new favorite blog of mine as well. This sweet & savory soup sounds soothing and substantial.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
It’s cold & rainy in Phoenix today, and that bowl of soup looks like it would hit the spot. Awesome!
December 7th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Mmmm this sounds perfect for today. Sweet potato and sage is an awesome combination and I’m sure the coconut milk helps even more!
December 7th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Those last leaves went to such a noble cause.
December 7th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Thank you all for the nice comments. I had sort of a stinky Monday and on days like today, friendly blog visitors have extra impact!
December 8th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Oh, yes, the sage was happy to be in your soup! I’m sure of it! I do the same thing… like last night I just had to have a second slice of my crusty fresh baked bread because, of course, my bread would be sad to be left uneaten when it was still warm and wonderful. Anyway, your soup looks lovely!
December 8th, 2009 at 9:37 am
yumO. soup for the soul- didn’t they write a book with that title? oh right, chicken soup– hmm, I’d prefer sweet potato with coconut any day!
December 9th, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I made this for dinner tonight and it was amazing! We did half sweet potatoes and half butternut squash, because I already had both things roasted. We also didn’t puree it, but I just took the potato masher to the soup and mashed up the chunks. It left some nice texture. Also, omitted shallots and used dried sage. SO good! Thank you!
December 13th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Yum! This sounds delish! I’ve used coconut milk to make curry and to make coconut cake (they sell GREAT at my church’s bake sales). I’ve never used it in soup. Thanks for the recipe, and you can be sure that I’ll revisit your blog.
December 15th, 2009 at 4:08 am
Quick and easy to make and I loved it, although I found I needed to add a bit more chicken stock than suggested or it was going to be more like pie filling. But what a winner! The subtle coconut and sage gave it real depth. A great change from pumpkin soup. Thanks!
December 20th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Even better when you have 2 feet of snow outside
November 16th, 2012 at 2:03 pm
[...] really great. Sage has nice deep undertones that stay on the pallet a long time after eating. Here is the recipe that I like, because I am a GF vegan*, I simply substitute chicken broth for a gluten [...]
December 27th, 2012 at 5:50 pm
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