It has been awhile. There have been new recipes tried in the Hanton household and they were tasty. I'm not going to lie though, there was was a point where any kind of cooking was met with a resounding "meh". Thus, the husband wept over the sheer amount of money spent on takeout. To get that spark back, I had to take a break from my usual rotation and step back from my favorite vegan/vegetarian cookbooks for a bit. So I made some more "normal" kind of fare like pasta or tried cooking my own Chinese food.
However the sirens call beckoned me back toward those beloved vegetarian/vegan books I had grown so fond of. So to start us off once again, I am going to offer up this amazing spicy potato soup from Appetite For Reduction and it's PURPLE. Not "Barney the Dinosaur" purple but after cooking, it is more like an eggplant shade. (Though Isa does suggest grating beet into the soup if you want to keep it vibrant purple. I am not a fan of beet so I omitted that.) I would caution you on the amount of jalapeno you add to the soup. I bought a large jalapeno from the store and let me tell you, my sinuses were very clear after dinner.
Peruvian Purple Potato Soup
From: Appetite For Reduction
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped finely
2 jalapenos, seeded and sliced
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
2 pounds purple potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice, or to taste
A little grated beet, for color (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat a 4-quart pot over medium heat. Saute the onions, jalapenos, and bay leaves for about 7 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 3 minutes more.
Add the potatoes, water, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat a bit to a slow simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15 to 18 minutes.
Use an immersion blender to puree half the soup, or transfer half of the soup to a blender or food processor and puree. Be sure to let the steam escape between pulses so that it doesn't build up and explode all over you. If using a blender, return the pureed soup to the pot and mix.
Add the cilantro and lime, and taste for salt. Grate in a little bit of beet, using a Microplane grater if you've got one. Use about a tablespoon. Let the soup sit for at least 5 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve!
TIP: Peel the potatoes while the onions are sauteeing, or if you don't care about a little potato skin in your soup, live on the edge and forgo the peeling altogether.
