Happy Soup (sweet potato and carrot)

Happy Soup (sweet potato and carrot)

Having kids means using my marketing skills at dinner time. “Hulk-smash pasta,” “Monster soup,” and now, “Happy Soup.” Because sometimes it’s all about how you position it.

Happy Soup is a vibrant, orange delight that’s a hit at our family dinner table. We serve it with “dippys” (toast) for some interactive fun. For the adults, I like to add a punchy green herb pesto, chilli oil, and a squeeze of lime. We also enjoy it with dippys. Some nights, even Louis’s toy gecko joins in for a bowl…

Serves 4

  • Ingredients

    2 tbs olive oil
    1 red onion, chopped
    3 carrots, thinly sliced
    1 big sweet potato, peeled, chopped (roughly 600g)
    2 garlic cloves
    400-500ml chicken stock (pending on how thin you like your soup)
    1 makrut lime leaf
    1 tsp fish sauce (optional)
    salt

  • Method

    Heat olive oil in a deep pot. Add onion and carrot. Cook for 10 minutes or until starting to show signs of softening. Add sweet potato and garlic. Give that a good mix around. Pour in chicken stock, add lime leaf, fish sauce and pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered for 40 minutes until sweet and soft. Remove lime leaf. Blitz in blender (always find this ends with the silkiest soup), taste and adjust seasoning. Serve with lime wedges.

    PS. If you like your soup extra thick, than start with 400ml. If you're finding you need more stock, add more (or water) to help bring it to the consistency you like.

    For punchy herb mix – I blitz a handful of parsley leaves, coriander leaves, 1 garlic clove and a green chilli in a food processor. Then pour in about ¼ cup of olive oil, zest of lemon and season with salt. Blitz. Stir in toasted sesame seeds.

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