Sweet potato, coconut and dried lime soup

I have only recently become acquainted with dried limes. They are traditionally used to flavour Middle Eastern dishes and resemble slightly charred and extremely tough ping-pong balls. However, do not be put off by their sinister demeanor as these beauties can effortlessly transform any dish. 

You can either grind them into fine powder in your coffee grinder or food processor, or you can use them whole in stews, soups and curries where they become soft and edible. If you choose to grind them, first cut them in half and remove any seeds. The powder can be used to flavour the cooking liquid for basmati rice (about 1/2 teaspoon per 1 cup of rice).

Anyhow, I thought the sweetness of the sweet potato and creaminess of the coconut would go lovely with the sour, citrusy, slightly fermented flavour of the dried limes. If you cannot find dried limes anywhere just use the juice of 1 lime. Here's the recipe for this lovely, heart-warming soup.

  

Sweet potato, coconut and dried lime soup, serves 3-4

Dash of olive oil

1 onion, peeled and chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut into pieces

1 small red chilli (or a good pinch of dried chilli flakes)

1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 whole dried lime, stabbed several times with a sharp knife (or juice of 1 lime)

2 whole bay leaves, dried or fresh

4 tsp vegetable stock powder (I use marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder) dissolved in 1 litre of hot water from a kettle

100g creamed coconut, chopped into pieces

salt

pepper

fresh coriander to garnish, washed and chopped

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli (if using dried chilli add this to the 1 litre of stock water).  Add the sweet potato and cook for 2 minutes whilst stirring occasionally. Add the stock along with the dried lime and bay leaves and give the soup a good stir.  Boil gently until the potato is soft. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper along with the coconut and allow it to melt in the soup. Take off the heat and blitz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor. Serve immediately with a handful of fresh, chopped coriander. Once completely cold, the soup can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for up to 2 months.