To celebrate Robert’s birthday last month, the two of us went to a fairly new restaurant in town that we’ve been wanting to try. Called Tabella’s, it’s a tapas restaurant, which means that it serves a selection of appetizer-type dishes rather than full meals and entrees. We ordered about 4 different items and shared each one. Well, except the sourdough bread basket, which Robert assured me was absolutely terrible. (Yeah, right!) The other dishes were sausage and sauerkraut, chickpea fries, and the special of the night ~ Sweet Potato Turnip Soup. This restaurant is very up to date on the whole gluten free thing and our server knew immediately which items were safe.
Everything was delicious, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the soup. Every week at the farm there are gigantic turnips to take home, but being a bit scared of them, I usually pass them up, or bring a couple of small ones home and hide them in our mashed potatoes.
Well, this week I was determined to do something different. There were loads of sweet potatoes and turnips in our farm share this week, so I filled a bag with them, alongside some onions and other wonderful hard veggies that are in abundance now, and brought them home.
(Only one more week of farm pick-ups until June ! I didn’t purchase a winter share.)
Using some online recipes I found as a guide, and then adding a few of my favorite spices and coconut milk, I think I came up with a pretty yummy soup last night. Robert is out of town now, so he couldn’t try it, but if the kids are any indication, I think he will like it. They ate bowlfuls and raved about how good it was. We ate it with gluten free cornbread and a tossed salad, and can’t wait for the leftovers for lunch today!
Here’s the recipe:
Sweet Potato Turnip Soup
2 large turnips
3 medium-large sweet potatoes
3-4 small onions ( or 2 med.)
8-10 garlic cloves
3-4 Tbsp olive oil (for sauteeing)
broth or water to cover veggies while simmering (I used water)
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Chop, place in stock pot and saute garlic and onions in olive oil until tender. Peel potatoes and turnips, chop into small cubes, place in pot with onions and garlic and just cover with broth or water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15-20 minutes until all veggies are tender. Puree in batches in a blender. Return to pot and add spices and coconut milk. Let simmer again for 10-15 minutes. Makes 10-12 servings.
Carrots and celeriac would work well in this soup, too!
wow, you read my mind! I was staring at turnips and sweet potatoes on my counter this morning and thinking I need to come up with something different with them! sounds like dinner 🙂
Melanie,
I'm writing on behalf of Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery (www.rudisbakery.com), which is interested in sending you a special introductory package to their GF breads, including a sample loaf. Can you please pass along your e-mail address so I can share more with you? Thanks,
Elexis Mariash, on behalf of Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery
emariash@linhartpr.com