This vegan sweet potato soup is brimming with nutritious veggies like mushrooms, broccoli and sweet potatoes swimming in a naturally creamy coconut milk broth with subtle notes of garlic, ginger, turmeric and sumac.
Thinly slice the leek and place it in a bowl of cold water. Rinse around and allow to sit for a few minutes for any sand / dirt to sink to the bottom.
1 medium leek
Preheat a heavy bottom soup pot over medium heat. Use a slotted spoon or your hands and scoop out the leeks from the water. Add them to the soup pot with a pinch of salt and sautee until wilted. (The steam from the water will help them wilt and sautee without the need for oil). Once wilted and they start to get some color remove half of the leeks and set aside in a bowl.
1 medium leek
To the soup pot with the remaining leeks add a light drizzle of olive oil and your mushrooms. (If using wild mushrooms, oysters or maitake make sure to tear the larger ones into bite size pieces. If using cremini just quarter them and if going for shiitakes make sure to discard the stem and slice the caps into thin strips.)
1 lb mushrooms
Add a splash of dry white wine or a squeeze of lemon juice to get the mushrooms going and intensify flavor. Cook until wilted and all the moisture has evaporated then season with a small pinch of sea salt. Transfer the mushroom to a bowl and keep warm.
1/3 cup dry white wine, S & P to taste
Turn the heat down under the soup pot and add a light drizzle of olive oil or veggie broth. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant taking care not to allow it to burn at all. Stir in the turmeric, onion powder, sumac and chili flakes and toss to coat quickly again taking care not to burn it.
3 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger root, 3 tsp turmeric, 3 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, 2 tsp sumac + more for serving
Stir in the reserved leeks (not mushrooms), add the coconut milk, water, tamari, nutritional yeast and bay leaves and bring to a simmer.
1 medium leek, 2 X 14 oz coconut milk, 3-4 cups water, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, 1 Tbsp tamari, 2 bay leaves
Add the sweet potato cubes to the stew and a pinch of salt. (You can also add the broccoli florets at this time for everything to cook together but only if they are the same size; or steam them separately and add before serving which is what I prefer to do).
4 cups sweet potato chunks
Keep the soup at a constant bubble partially covered with a lid. Cook until the sweet potato chunks are cooked through but still keep their shape. Depending on their size this should take anywhere from 12 to 20 minutes. (meanwhile steam the broccoli if choosing this methos)
Stir In the cooked broccoli florets if cooked separately together with the reserved mushrooms and leeks. Adjust seasonings to taste.
1 lb broccoli florets, 1 lb mushrooms
Serve hot over brown rice or thick rice noodles, garnished with fresh basil leaves, sumac, lime or lemon wedges and hot chili sauce for serving.
1/3 cup fresh basil for garnish, 1 lime or lemon, chili sauce for serving
WFPB + Plantricious
For WFPB compliance make sure to omit any oil from the recipe and use water or veggie stock instead. Coconut water can be used in lieu of full fat coconut milk for a fat free adaptation.