Foodie Fridays: Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

We are currently experiencing the coldest temperatures as well as the most snow so far for this winter.  Whenever it gets this cold my thoughts immediately turn to warm and hearty soups for meals.  I have been looking for recipes that use red lentils since I have an almost full bag of them, and I found a great one for Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice on the Half Baked Harvest website (always a wonderful source for excellent recipes).  I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, except for reducing the amount of cilantro which my husband does not like, eliminating the rice which I did not feel we needed, and adding 2 T. of a flavored vinegar I had on hand (Cuisine Perel Spicy Pecan Vinegar, but a sherry vinegar or even apple cider vinegar should be good as well).

This soup is so delicious!  I rarely cook with coconut milk, but I think I should use it more often, and make curries more often as well.  I bought pre-chopped sweet potatoes, which made this soup even easier to put together.  It cooks quickly - I started making it at 11 o'clock in the morning and it was ready to eat by noon.  I really recommend this recipe, especially if you too are now enduring frigid wintry weather!

Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

2 T. olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 T. minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 T. yellow curry powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 C. vegetable stock (I use unsalted) or water
3/4 C. dried red lentils
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 T. vinegar, or to taste
1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk
2 C. baby spinach, roughly chopped
1 T. chopped cilantro, or to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until soft.  Add the ginger, garlic, and sweet potatoes and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook another minute.

Add the stock, lentils, and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and the sweet potatoes are tender.

Stir in the vinegar, coconut milk, and spinach, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and taste for seasonings, adding more salt and/or vinegar as needed.  Stir in the cilantro and serve.  Serves 6.