Thai Inspired Sweet Potato Curry Soup

Step 1: To a large enough pot to accommodate soup, add oil until medium-hot. Add onions and curry paste and saute for about 4-5 minutes and stir until softened and fragrant. Be careful not to burn and over brown onions.

Step 2: Add garlic and ginger and saute for another 1 - 2 minutes.

Step 3: Add chopped sweet potatoes and bell peppers and mix.

Step 4: Add chicken or vegetable stock. Let stock come to a boil. Cover and reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes or until sweet potatoes are soft when pierced with a knife or a fork.

Step 5: Once done, pure soup with a hand-held blender or transfer soup in batches to a counter-top blender until completely pureed. Return soup to pot.

Step 6: Add coconut milk. Adjust consistency by adding additional coconut milk and/or stock, if necessary. Let soup simmer until fully warmed through.

Step 7: Check for seasonings and adjust, if necessary.

Step 8: Add the rum, if desired.

Step 9: Sprinkle lime juice and lemon zest to taste (or this step can be done once the soup is plated which I prefer doing both).

Step 10: Plate the soup and garnish with sour cream/buttermilk mixture or Mexican crema and a sprinkling of paprika.

NOTE: Some curry paste blends require cooking, therefore if you want to adjust with more curry paste at the end, you may need to saute the curry in a separate pan prior to adding it to the soup. I use a curry paste that does not require cooking and is labeled "instant, ready to cook" - Dragonfly brand - made in Thailand.

Thai curry paste is preferred in this recipe. Other country-inspired curries, such as Indian, are more heavy laden in spices. The Thai curry results in a vibrant and clean tasting soup. Using others would take away from it no longer being Thai, but if that's what you want to go with, it's all up to the individual pallet.