There’s no way you won’t warm up to this creamy sweet potato and charred snoek soup once you’ve had a taste! Add some sweet potato and spring onion crisps and you have a delicious winter meal.

SERVES 6 // COOKING TIME 2 hours 30 min

INGREDIENTS
For the sweet potato and snoek soup
2 sweet potatoes
200 g snoek fillets
2 tbsp apricot jam
Salt and black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
10 g sage
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cream
½ cup chopped almonds, toasted
For the sweet potato and spring onion crisps
Vegetable oil, to deep-fry
2 sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
6 spring onions, thinly sliced
Salt and black pepper

METHOD
For the sweet potato and snoek soup
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and bake for 1½ hours, until soft. Peel the skin off and cut the flesh into chunks.
3. Brush the snoek fillets with apricot jam, season and drizzle with olive oil. Grill in the oven for 10 minutes a side, making sure not to burn them. Pull the flesh from the bones. Set aside.
4. Fry the onions for 5 minutes, until golden. Add the sage, salt, pepper and sweet potatoes, and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the stock, cream and almonds, and simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Fold in the pulled snoek.
For the sweet potato and spring onion crisps
1. Heat the oil in a large pot.
2. Deep-fry sweet potatoes and spring onions, a handful at a time, until golden. Drain on paper towel to crisp up.
3. Season once cooled.

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za