Coconut milk is one of my favourite ingredients and it makes a fantastic creamy base for all the other robust flavours in this Asian-style soup. Choose firm sweet potatoes with orange flesh for their vibrant colour.

　　

Ingredients

Serves 4–6

　　450g (1lb) sweet potatoes, cut into cubes

　　2 tbsp sunflower oil

　　1 onion, finely chopped

　　1 leek, trimmed and finely chopped

　　1 lemon grass stalk, trimmed and halved

　　1 red chilli, halved, seeded and thinly sliced

　　1 tsp freshly grated root ginger

　　1.25 litres (2 1/4 pints) vegetable stock

　　4 tsp tomato purée

　　400g can coconut milk

　　sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　chilli oil , to garnish

　　fresh micro coriander, to garnish

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6).

　　

Step 2

Place the sweet potatoes in a baking tin, drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the sunflower oil and roast for 20–30 minutes, until tender. Set aside.

　　

Step 3

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, leek, lemon grass, half the chilli and the ginger and sweat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the roasted sweet potato with the stock and tomato purée, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until the liquid has slightly reduced and all the vegetables are completely tender.

　　

Step 4

Pour the coconut milk into the pan, reserving about 3 tablespoons from the top of the can as a garnish, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season to taste. Remove the lemon grass and then blend with a hand blender until smooth.

　　

Step 5

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and swirl in the reserved coconut milk. Add a drizzle of the chilli oil, then sprinkle over the reserved chilli slices and micro coriander.

　　Cooks' Note

　　COOK AHEAD

　　This soup can be made up to 2–3 days in advance and kept covered in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month but may need to be blitzed with a hand blender when reheating, as it may split.

　　WINE

　　An Alsace Gewürztraminer or German Riesling.

　　Reprinted with permission from The MacNean Restaurant Cookbook: by Neven Maguire. © Neven Maguire 2012. Photography by Joanne Murphy. Published by Gill & Macmillan.