I fell in love with the purple sweet potato because purple food is unusual and this food in particular is quite striking. Do you remember the antioxidant anthocyanin that’s found in things like blueberries and purple cabbage? It is present in abundance in purple sweet potatoes too! This fantastic tuber is not only beautiful, but it’s potentially able to help ward off age-related diseases, eliminate free radicals, and reduce inflammation. With all of that going on, I couldn’t resist.

First I tried baking it, just to get an understanding of its qualities. It’s less sweet than the orange-fleshed variety and slightly drier, more like the white version. I really liked it with just a touch of ghee and some salt. Easy! Then I got to thinking about a soup because it’s cold out and my Curried Sweet Potato Soup was so good that I felt inspired. A few Facebook fans thought it would be a good idea too so I got back in the kitchen. Here’s the thing, though. It sort of feels like chomping on Barney. My husband decided it was too weird for him. You’ll have to decide for yourself.

At first, I tried different spice combinations but in the end, I went with the simplest of preparations so your taste buds don’t get too overwhelmed – there’s enough going on visually as it is. I asked myself what I liked when I baked it and started there, adding some onion and just a touch of coconut milk. It’s warm and comforting and, well…purple!

Purple Sweet Potato Soup

1/2 Tbsp. ghee

1/2 an onion

1-1 1/2 lbs. purple sweet potato

4 c. vegetable broth

1/2 tsp. salt or to taste

1/4 c. coconut milk

Directions

1) Melt ghee over medium high heat in a soup pot. Chop onion and add to soup pot, cooking until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.

2) Peel and chop sweet potato. Add it to the pot and stir to coat in ghee. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

3) Reduce heat to medium, keeping a lively simmer for about 35 minutes. When potatoes are soft and broth has boiled off some, remove from the heat and blend all the ingredients together until smooth. I used an immersion blender, but any type will do. You might find a few purple splatters as you do this.

4) Add salt to taste, this depends a lot on the broth you use, and the coconut milk. Stir to combine and warm everything up before smiling as you eat your purple soup!

Serves 4-6