Thai One On - Exotic Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup with Shrimp

I can honestly say this is one of my absolute favourite soups! The first time I made it, I was a little intimidated by the various flavours I was adding, and had concerns it would be a bit much for me, but once I actually tasted it, I wanted to keep going back to the pot for more! Soooo good! trust me on this one, you'll love it! Oh and you can thank the Looneyspoons for the recipe!

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Butter or Olive Oil
• 1 cup each chopped Onions and Red Bell Peppers
• 3/4 cup chopped Celery
• 2 tsp minced Garlic
• 4 cups peeled, cubed Sweet Potatoes (about 2 large)
• 1 tbsp grated Gingerroot
• 3/4 tsp each ground Cumin, ground Coriander, and Curry Powder (I used mild)
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 cups Reduced-Sodium Chicken or Vegetable Broth
• 1 can (14 oz/398mL) light Coconut Milk
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
• 3 tbsp each minced fresh Cilantro and minced Basil leaves
• 2 tbsp light Peanut Butter
• 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed Lime Juice
• 1 lb (454g) cooked medium Shrimp, tails removed (thaw first if using frozen)

Instructions
1) Heat butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, red pepper, celery and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables start to soften, about 4 minutes.

2) Stir in sweet potatoes, gingerroot, cumin, coriander, curry powder and cinnamon. Cook and stir for 30 more seconds. Add broth, coconut milk, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, just until sweet potatoes are tender.

3) In the meantime, prep your shrimp by removing any remaining shell. If you've purchased cooked and peeled, you'll still possibly have tail left to remove, and trust me, you'll want to do it now rather than with each spoonful of soup!

4) Carefully transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return pureed soup to pot with remaining soup. Stir in cilantro, basil, peanut butter, brown sugar and lime juice. Mix well. Add shrimp and heat for about 2 more minutes, just until shrimp is hot.

Adding the remaining ingredients

in goes the shrimp!

♥♥♥♥♥