Chef Gretchen Hanson is making mashed sweet potatoes with a praline topping and butternut squash curry soup.
Kevin and Jason’s Mashed Sweet potatoes with Walnut Praline
When sweet potatoes are cool remove skin. Some brown spots will remain but they are actually sugar caramelizing so leave them.
- 4-5 largish sweet potatoes cooked
- 4 TB coconut cream strained (take the liquid out of the coconut milk and reserve for future use, use only the solid fat)
- 4 TB Earth Balance vegan butter
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt flakes
- 1/3 cup organic agave
Mash everything together. Taste for flavor balance.
Walnut Praline
- 1 cup walnuts bits and pieces
- 1 TB earth balance
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp sea salt flakes
- 2 TB organic light brown sugar
Sautee everything together in a saucepan until the walnuts are browning and spices are fragrant. Add the brown sugar and let it melt. Put praline on cookie sheet lined with wax paper and let cool. Serve on top of sweet potatoes and warm up in oven if you like. Vegan and gluten free.
Butternut Squash Curry Soup
- 1 large to 3 medium Butternut squash yielding about 4 cups of mashed squash (depending on size and thickness of soup)
- 4 cans Coconut milk
- 1 quart Vegetable stock
- 1 cup Apple juice
- 1 ½ tsp Nutmeg2 TB Yellow Curry paste or more (start with 1 TB and keep adding till you have the heat you want)
- 1 ½ tsp Herbamare or sea salt
- 1 tsp White pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne
- 1 TB Agave nectar to start plus more to taste
Bake, peel seed and mash squash. Add to all other ingredients and simmer on stove. Keep checking curry, agave and nutmeg levels for adjusting. Yields about 4-5 quarts soup vegan and gluten free
