Happy & Healthy

2 COMFORT SOUPS

Now that the leaves are starting to fall and the temperature is dropping, colorful salads are slowly being replaced by comfort food.

On a rainy Sunday, I love to prepare a large pot of steaming soup. From hearty meal soups to a simple but super quick creamy cauliflower variant. Grab a large shopping bag and hit the vegetable section, because... It's soup time.

Thai sweet potato soup
Ingredients:

2 tbsp coconut oil

4 sweet potatoes

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp red curry paste

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 lime

1 liter broth

a can of coconut milk

fresh coriander

a handful of pumpkin seeds

Here's how to make it:

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into cubes. Heat the coconut oil in a pot and add the chopped garlic along with the salt. Sauté until the onion turns golden brown. Then add the sweet potatoes, the crushed garlic, the curry paste, the coriander seeds, and the cumin, and stir until everything is well mixed. Add the broth, the coconut milk, and the fresh pepper to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Lower the heat once it starts boiling and let it simmer on low for 25 minutes. Blend the soup with an immersion blender and add a tablespoon of lime juice and the zest of half a lime. Chop the coriander finely and serve it along with the pumpkin seeds on the hot soup.

Creamy parsnip soup with fresh sage and parsnip chips

Ingredients for the soup:

1 onion

2 large parsnips in coarse pieces

2 cans of cannellini beans

a handful of finely chopped fresh sage

olive oil

a bay leaf

a liter of broth

Ingredients for the chips:

parsnip chips

1 parsnip

fresh sage

Place a large pot over medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil to the pot, along with the chopped onion and parsnip. Let it cook for 5 minutes and then add the garlic, fresh sage, bay leaf, drained beans, and broth, and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf from the soup and blend until a smooth creamy mass is formed.

Then preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Use a vegetable peeler to make thin slices of the parsnip. Place the slices on a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil and fresh sage. Bake the parsnip for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the oven, as the parsnip will start to color quickly. Add extra broth if the soup is too thick. Serve with fresh pepper and the parsnip chips.

And then snuggle up on the couch with a thick blanket and your loved one. Enjoy!