Simple coconut-potato soup with zero-waste chips

Here’s an easy, white, potato-based soup with an unusual aroma, or a short story about how to quickly transform a few potatoes into a slightly spicy and a bit homely version of Thai tom kha soup. A short list of ingredients that are not difficult to find, and in 20 minutes you can prepare a, slightly citrusy and really filling coconut dish. I have to admit this is my favorite potato soup. And I realized this when I started to be really generous with coconut milk, ginger and lime while preparing it. And instead of throwing away the potato peels, I prepared some quick, crispy and salty chips. There is no doubt that if any food is comfort food, it is potatoes.

Simple coconut-potato soup with zero-waste chips

Note: Good quality coconut milk and its really large dose is key for this recipe. If you want to make a larger batch of soup, prepare it with two cans of milk – and double the other ingredients too.

3 or 4 medium-sized potatoes

• 1 small onion (or 1/2 large onion)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 1 can of coconut milk 400ml (minimum 80% coconut content!)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 piece of ginger (at least 4 cm, so more than 30g)
• 1 lime

• Frying oil, a large pinch of salt, a paper towel

• Coriander or chives, and fresh chillies

1. Wash and peel the potatoes thoroughly. Save the peelings, preferably dry them on a paper towel.

2. Cut the onion into large pieces. At the bottom of the pot, heat the oil, then add the onion, and after two minutes also the potatoes cut into quarters.

3. Pour water over the potatoes so that it covers most of them. Cook until tender for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, use a small spoon to peel a piece of ginger and cut it into small pieces. Peel the garlic and cut it into small pieces.

5. In a small pan, heat the oil to cover its entire bottom. Put the potato peelings on the hot oil, preferably gradually so that they do not stick to each other. Over the next few minutes, stir them a few times to allow them to fry until crispy and golden brown. Put the prepared chips on a dry paper towel.

6. Coming back to the soup: blend the soup with a hand blender, then add: salt, whole lime juice, a can of coconut milk, garlic and ginger. Blend thoroughly for a minute or two until a smooth white creamy texture.

7.Serve with salted chips, coriander leaves or chopped chives. It tastes good with slices of chilli pepper and an extra portion of lime.

If you want to prepare extra citrusy potato chips: before squeezing the lime, grate some into very small pieces and then mix them with fried potato chips. This can add some extra taste-punch to the dish.