Laura's Working Lunch

I usually spend my days working at the lovely Wieden + Kennedy, an advertising agency situated in East London. Though some people may have an image of advertising types as ‘lovies-what-lunch’ the truth is nothing could be more wrong. I have spent the last few weeks talking about food with Noe, our fabulous creative, and since then we have been cooking and sharing our meals together (along with Miss Gail McClelland, sausage connoisseur).

Here we are:



Yesterday Noe cooked up a storm. Her Thai-inspired Sweet Potato soup was a triumph in rich, silky amber. Thick, warm and delicious topped with a tickling of fresh chopped coriander. Considering the weather has been so horrendous over the last week or two it provided a welcoming, warming treat to combat the sheeting rain.

Here we are finishing it off:



And the remnants are here:



Noe has been kind enough to regale me with the recipe. So here it is for you delectation. (though she insists its all about your taste and what you’ve got to hand. She had two limes for instance)

Noe’s Sweet Potato Soup

4 large (or 5/6 small) Sweet potatoes
Peanut Oil
1 tin of Coconut milk
2 cloves of garlic
1 deseeded fresh chili
2 Red onions diced
2 limes, juice and zest
Chicken stock (Noe made her own with chicken carcass, a generous amount of ginger, fennel tops, leek and lemon thyme covered with water and left to simmer for approx. 3hours)
Fresh coriander


Fry the onions and garlic in the peanut oil until soft. Add the sweet potato which has been cut into chunks and continue to sweat over the heat. When the potato has softened cover the lot with chicken stock. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked through.
Leave to cool. When it mixture has cooled slightly add the coconut milk, lime juice zest, and fresh chili. Blend the whole mixture together.
To serve cover with fresh chopped corriander.

Marvelous.

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.

So said Voltaire. The pleasure of eating, in fact everything that surrounds food is something of a wonder for Laura.