Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Soup With Sweet Potato And Kale

This creamy, sweet-spicy-coconutty soup is all about balance: When the contrasting flavors are in harmony, it is outrageously delicious. (It is also vegan if there's no fish or shrimp in your curry paste.) Supermarket curry pastes are a great shortcut to flavor for weeknights, but salt and spice levels can vary greatly among brands. So taste at the end, and adjust: You may need to add curry paste, sugar or lime juice to your liking. Chile-lime flavored peanuts, available at some grocery stores, are particularly good for topping — snap them up if you happen to see them. Otherwise, roasted salted peanuts will work beautifully.

Servings

Total time

minutes

Cuisines

Indian

Courses

Soups and stews

Ingredients

2½ pounds sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1-to 2-inch chunks)
1 yellow onion (medium, or red, chopped)
5 garlic cloves (large)
2 tablespoons coconut oil (preferably unrefined virgin)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar (packed)
1 teaspoon Turmeric
½ teaspoon kosher salt (plus more to taste)
4 ounce red curry paste (jar)
13 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 lime (juice of, plus more to taste)
5 ounces baby kale (or spinach, stemmed and chopped)
roasted salted peanuts (for topping)

Method

Combine the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, oil, sugar, turmeric and salt in a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Add more than half of the jar of curry paste (about 1/3 cup) and 1 cup of water. Stir to combine all the ingredients and cook on low until the potatoes are quite tender, about 8 hours. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, remaining curry paste and 2 1/2 cups water to the slow cooker. Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until it is uniformly creamy. Add the lime juice and the kale, and stir to combine. Cook on low until the greens are wilted and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in more warm water if you would like a looser texture. Taste and add more lime juice or salt if necessary. Serve in bowls with peanuts on top.