curried sweet potato and rice soup

for new years eve, my roommate and I decided to stay in and make dinner.

our new years eve consisted of (in the following order):

1. taking a nap
2. taking a power bath with a book (think power shower, but in bath form - bliss!)
   
3. making this soup
4. making the decision to stay in
5. beer, wine, and prosecco
6. deciding to ring in the new year listening to gwen stefani's 'what are you waiting for'
7. missing the actual arrival of the new decade (!), thanks to the fact that the website that that we had loaded with the new years countdown had frozen
8. having a miniature dance party to santigold in the living room
9. ending up going out anyway

in retrospect, we probably knew that it was inevitable. but luckily, the brunt of our new years activities were absorbed quite nicely with being full of this delicious, delicious soup.


it's that time of year. in seattle, this means the beginning of three long months of not seeing the sun, and being constantly damp (not wet - this city specializes in doling out just enough constant drizzle to warrant being unbearably damp while being just short enough of moisture to warrant opening an umbrella). not to mention coming down with seasonal depression.

and that, my chickadees, is when we collectively thank god for SOUP.

i had a couple of leftover sweet potatoes maxin' and relaxin' in my fridge, leftover refugees from Thanksgiving. i had originally planned on just throwing them in the oven and roasting them until they were caramelized and gooey. this was one of the few things from the Thanksgivings of my childgood that my mom and I could agree on because it was so easy to make. (step one: preheat oven to 425. step two: throw potatoes in oven. step three: take out of oven after an hour. step four: eat.)

but, given my sort-of new years resolution - (let's just call it a resolution, shall we? i feel like anything that is labeled as a New Years Resolution is doomed to failure around, oh, February) - coming across this recipe seemed pretty kismet. and what a recipe it is! slightly more work than just chucking them in the oven, but not too much more. and definitely worth that extra effort.

Curried Sweet Potato and Rice Soup
[adapted from Happy Herbivore]

INGREDIENTS

• 2 whole large sweet potatoes, cooked
• 1 whole sweet onion, diced
• 6 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 0.25 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup rice milk
• 1/2 cup rice, cooked (I used a blend of white, brown, wild, and red)
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425F. Bake sweet potatoes until just slightly overdone, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Allow to completely cool, then peel away the skin and discard. Or eat. Whatever floats your boat.

Mash potatoes in a medium bowl - if you have just overcooked the potatoes, you should be able to do this without a blender.

In a medium saucepan, combine onion, garlic, broth, curry and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until onions are translucent (about 5 to 7 minutes).

Transfer mixture to potato puree, add rice milk, and mix thoroughly.

Return to saucepan and heat thoroughly. Season to taste.

Ladle into a bowl, spoon warm wild rice into the center, and serve.

The result? Soup that was rich and creamy. Sweet, with just a little kick from the chili powder, with a little crunch from the onions, and a little chewy, from the rice. Amazing. And delicious! I doubled the original recipe because I had two potatoes instead of the 1 that it had called for - and because I figured that the leftovers would be just as good cold, if not better.

Turns out that it was just enough to make two hearty bowls for 2 - so if you want leftovers, think about doubling the recipe above. Another thought that would have been delicious, had I had some on hand, would have been a bit of fresh cilantro on top.

Happy new year, dumplings!