The weather’s been mad-unpredictable for the past few weeks: snow, hail, icy rain, beautiful spring sunshine and downright balmy days. But that’s Canada, baby, and you have to love the diversity (in weather, people and food!)
I found this recipe on KB‘s site some time ago and was super stoked to try it, but the weather quite suddenly took a major turn for the warmer and I just wasn’t feeling a thick, heavy bisque.
(Cue ice rain!)
We finally got a chill-you-to-the-bone day, and I knew it was time to start peeling my sweet potatoes 
If you haven’t checked out KB, Spiritual Superhero, then you definitely should. The girl’s got spunk for days (and some great recipes, naturally!) This one is fully vegan, fully freakin’ different and delicious with a capital D. I altered some of the recipe the second time I made it and liked it even more.
As usual, my alterations are emphasized beside the original, which has been left, as is, should you wish to try both versions.
A more detailed a review after laying out the recipe. Let’s get this R & R started!
RECIPE
Sweet Potato Coconut Vegan Bisque
Original recipe by KB (emphasis on my alterations)
Ingredients
4 – 5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
7 Tbsp olive oil (I used 5, quite successfully to cut some of the end-oiliness)
Salt & pepper to taste
1 onion, diced (I used 2 medium onions)
1 celery stalk, diced
1 carrot, peeled & diced (I used 2 as I enjoy a hearty carrot flavour paired with sweet potatoes)
1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 1.5)
1 tsp curry powder (I used 1/2 tsp, as I found the original somewhat curry-heavy)
.5 tsp ground coriander (I used 1/4 tsp)
.5 tsp cumin (I used 1/4 tsp)
.5 tsp cinnamon (I used 1/4 tsp)
4 cups organic vegetable broth
1 14-oz can coconut milk (I used almost 2 full 400mL cans, as I preferred it really creamy)
3 cups fresh or frozen corn
Method
Pre-heat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly oil a cookie sheet or roasting pan. (I heated my oven to 400°F as I wanted a more “roasted” flavor in my bisque that comes from actually slightly browning the sweet potatoes, not just cooking them to tender)
Pour 2 Tbsp of the olive oil into a large bowl. Toss in the sweet potatoes and add the salt and pepper. Transfer to the cookie sheet and bake until tender, approx 30 minutes. (I used approximately 1.5 Tbsp olive oil to coat, the rest into the pot as noted into next step)
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 4 tbsp of olive oil in a very large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Cook until the onion is translucent, then add garlic, curry powder, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the baked sweet potatoes and corn and continue to cook for 10 minutes or until corn is tender.
Remove from heat and puree half the soup with a hand blender (or food processor), return to the pot, and serve. Garnish with fresh cilantro. [The second time I made this, I pureed the entire pot, which made for a really nice, silky soup. Both ways worked well I did not use cilantro to garnish as the flavour, for me, didn’t pair well with the soup. I used a cute fresh garden green (see first picture in post) and on another bowl, topped with a drizzle of coconut milk (below), which was pretty too.)
Other Variations (mine)
*I found that 6-7 drops of sriracha sauce mixed into each single serving dish was really good, and melded, seamlessly with the existing flavours and consistency of the dish. Cayenne was also wonderful.
*A few good twists from a coarsely set pepper mill is wonderful and gives a nice bite through the creaminess of the bisque.
*The dish does well when paired with some kind of acid; any sort of lime accented cracker or flatbread really makes it special. A sprinkling of fresh lime zest to each bowl was also delicious.
*Substituting 1/4 of the sweet potatoes with regular spuds, cutting the amount of corn by 1/3 and replacing a portion of the coconut milk with coconut water will lessen the sweetness and overall richness of the bisque.
*For the carnivores in your family, certainly, I’d recommend sprinkling a well seasoned meat, in small cubes/slices on top of individual bowls of bisque. My suggestion would be to avoid dense, heavier cuts of meat (ie: chicken breast) as the dish is so rich to begin with. A spicy sausage or finely cut/shredded, spicy pork or tender beef would work well, though any fish would, in all likelihood, be overpowered by the heaviness and consistency of the soup.
REVIEW
Overall, this recipe is distinct and packed with enough punch to deem it a big success. While both the original recipe and my variations produce a depth in flavour, and pleasing consistency that’s surprising given it’s short cook time, it’s worth noting that this is an extremely sweet, creamy bisque/soup. Even with the expectation of a sweet bisque, this blogger was initially taken aback by the potency of all of those naturally occurring sugars! This may throw off the taste buds of a diner whose pallet runs traditional and savoury where soups, appetizers and entrées are concerned. For my own personal taste, I found the original recipe’s curry/cumin aroma slightly overpowering, which is why I cut their measurements, considerably, in my second batch. Flavour wise, however, both the original and less aromatic pots were delicious.
KB’s Sweet Potato Coconut Vegan Bisque is definitely one of the most unique pots of yummy I’ve had the pleasure of making, and I would certainly recommend giving it – or a variation of – a try on a cool evening!
Would love to know what variations on this recipe you think would work, or which ones you love!
***
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So, I FINALLY made this soup. It was yummy. The first batch, I used your variations but both my house mate and I decided that though it was delish we definitely wanted more spice. So the second time, I used the heavier spice plus about 1/8 to 1/4 tsp more of each of the spices plus about 4-5 garlic cloves and I wasn’t shy with the cayenne and OMG, OUT.OF.THIS. WORLD! So good. Thanks for sharing this and I look forward to trying out more recipes.
Hi Currie! Long time no ‘see’! How have you been? I’m so glad you gave this recipe a try. I’ve since made it a few times and always keep on dumping in more cayenne till it’s almost too hot to handle
Hope you are doing well on your travels…I haven’t had a notifier for your blog in a while…I’ll have to hop on over there and see what I’m missing 
xo
This soup has all my favourite ingredients, especially the sweet potatoes.
Love your food pics.
Thank you!
I am sure it is tasty
I loved it
Thanks for sharing the recipe… I’ll probably give it a go.
Wonderful! If you do, I’d love your feedback!
Oh Anne, this looks divine. Any soup that is started with roasted vegetables is a hit with me. You had me at bisque. The last bisque I had was a lovely lobster bisque in Halifax last month and it was memorable. Your bisque, and other recipes, are why we need to be neighbours… right? I wish…
Agreed! Now, you get to packing and I’ll meet you somewhere between T.O. and Mississauga….
Sounds delicious!
Yep!
I love sweet potatoes! The coconut milk sounds intriguing though. Will definitely give this a try before the spring chill disappears.
The coconut milk really does give it a special quality, I think
Coriander/cilantro is my favourite herb. Even though you didn’t think it went so well with this dish, do you use it much in your other cooking?
I don’t use it often, but I do really enjoy cilantro (Coriander I’m more lukewarm toward); if cilantro’s your favourite, then I’d use that as a garnish (or go for a full chopped sprinkling!) for sure! I’m sure it’d only make the dish better for you
Let me know what you think (or if you use any variations!) I’m always adding notes to my recipe book 
I want this so much right now!
Ah yes– you will have to wait until you are finished gallivanting all over Italy before hunkering down to give it a try
When you do, let me know how you like it 
we will…it seems like the perfect dish for a colorado fall day
Cool share!
Thanks! Hope you like!
It sounds delicious. I always look forward to your recipes.
That’s sweet, thanks, SE! (And I always look forward to your unique pictures!)
Yum have to try this one out!!
I hope you do – it’s quite tasty!
I live in south and we could sure use some of the rain your having. Thanks for the recipe, have to try it someday soon.
Take the rain! (And when it does reach you, yes, it’s perfect weather for the soup
)
I’m really into coconut right now so I’ll be happy to try this!
Hi Alex! The coconut milk is a really strong flavour and really nice. Before I added the corn and sweet potatoes at the very end, it actually smelled quite similar to a Thai curry simmering away. Hope you like it!
Hello, I have nominated you for The Versatile Blogger Award for seeing beauty and inspiration in everyday life… and making me very hungry with this recipe! to accept visit: http://butterflyjulz.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/the-versatile-blogger-award/
Looks and sounds delicious!
Delicious… I love soups and this looks like a tasty recipe.
Hi there! It certainly is! Sweet and yummy!
Looks so yummy. Must try this out once.
Yes, please do! Any interesting variations you try, I would love to hear!
Yummy! Printed it out.
Ohhh, good! I hope you give it a go -would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Yummy! And I have sweet potatoes raring to go!
Excellent! Hope you enjoy the bisque!
This looks so healthy, can’t wait to try it!
It is bit heavy and creamy…but when the sweetness and the cream are all naturally occurring….well, it can’t be anything less than healthy, right? ;P
Looks Yummy. The soup makes us warm.
Indeed it does
Oh la la! My fave ingredients! I’ll try this on the weekend!
Awesome! Looking forward to hearing what you think!
Hi,
This looks fantastic, all lovely fresh vegs, very nice.
I think the fresh veggies are always what grab me! (And I am a huge sweet potato fan
)
THIS LOOKS SOO YUMMY! *heart*
It is, it is!