By Deborah Goldstein, founder Driven Women

It started out as a new sauce. I never follow recipes, so I just toss together what sounds good in my brain. Most of the time the results are tasty and balanced. Sometimes we hit divine. This time, it was a near catastrophe.

But experiments never fail, so I thought I’d begin to doctor the would-be sauce. The transformation resulted in the dish Michael has requested for birthday dinners and special occasions for years now.

Thai Style-Sweet Potato Soup

makes 5 quarts

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 ½ onions, peeled and chopped

1-2 parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 celery, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

3 jalapeño, seeded and minced

3 inches ginger, peeled and minced

6 cloves garlic, chopped

½ dozen sweet spuds, peeled and cubed

1 seeded chipotle

2 Cinnamon sticks

2 bay leaves

1 Calabrese pepper

3 Kaffir lime leaves

About 3 quarts water or stock

1 Tbsp smoked salt

1 Tbsp kosher salt

plenty of pepper

1 can coconut milk

1 lime

1 orange

Directions

• Heat oil over medium heat.
• Add onion, parsnip, celery, carrots and cook until onion is translucent- about 8 minutes.
• Add peppers, garlic, ginger and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Add sweet potatoes, chipotle, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, Calabrese pepper, Kaffir lime*.
• Add water or stock to just cover the ingredients.
• Bring to brief boil, lower heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are very tender- 30-45 minutes.
• Let cool for about an hour. Take out the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, Calabrese pepper, Kaffir lime leaves…making sure you’ve got them all.
• Add in coconut milk and seasonings. Puree the soup with an immersion mixer or in batches in a blender. Add lime juice and orange juice. Adjust seasonings. Strain soup through a sieve- if desired. (Michael likes it a little gritty, I like it silky smooth)
• Add fried chorizo chunks for a dialed-up version. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

Deborah Goldstein is a successful restauranteur and founder of the Driven Women, a community composed to serve NYC professionals sharing the common goal of career advancement, while integrating family life and personal development.