Turmeric Ginger Potato Soup

Inspired by the recent halftime show whirling dervish, I called this Coldplay Soup – and it was all yellow (with little bits of green and red but let’s just ignore that).

Look at the peas, look how they shine for you.

My mom texted me a picture Monday night of the quick, easy, lovely soup she had just made, so obviously I demanded the recipe, and like the wonderful mom she is, she obliged. My fridge and pantry already had everything I’d need to make this, so I was sold! I even wore a dress she made while making her soup, and am convinced that added a little extra mama-love to make these mostly monochrome ingredients shine.

I’ve been thinking recently about how my noodlecentric ways lead me to not utilize potatoes as much as I could. See, I went to Las Vegas with some beautiful girlfriends  a few weekends ago, and, among the many important philosophical issues we tackled there, we got in a knockdown drag-out fight over potatoes v. bread. Specifically, if you had to choose between either bread or potatoes for the rest of your life, what would you do?

Three of us (plus Oprah, in spirit) were on Team Bread, and one was staunchly in the potato camp. She blamed it on being Irish. Also, GREAT, now I can’t stop thinking about Potato Camp and how badly I want to be a counselor there this summer. Most of the kids go crazy on Tots Tuesdays, but I’m more of a Mashed Mondays kind of girl…

While I’m sticking to Team Bread for now, I didn’t miss it even a bit while feasting on ahem two servings of this last night. Yukon Golds are my go-to potato. The texture is more silky than starchy, and your teeth just sink through them like butter. With the taters being dyed yellow from the spices, it was even more like biting into butter (but, you know, vegan). Oh, that’s probably a good note to add: Turmeric will dye anything it touches yellow. Skin, lips, countertops – you’re all on notice. Also, is it weird that I'm using "biting into butter" as a selling point? No? Good.

Suffice to say, I'm a big fan of this total panacea of a soup. The spices are warming and calming and give the broth a luxurious body, the potatoes are filling and good for the soul, and peas are basically my spirit vegetable. 

...then came the bonkers bad dreams. I woke up in a tizzy at 3am trying to figure out what was real, and my first thought was not “oh man, this is probably a manifestation of all the stress and anxiety you’re currently experiencing,” it was, “oh man, I gotta google ‘turmeric dreams.’” (Side note: Turmeric Dreams is the name of my new 90s hip-hop dance crew.) But guess what! There’s totally stuff online about turmeric and vivid dreams! And if it’s on the Internet it’s true. Therefore, take stock of your current state of mind before taking turmeric to your stock – or, you know, roll the dice and see if you wake up screaming, too! Nothing like a good subconscious hellscape to make you grateful for your actual life, right?

Whatever dubious dream-bonkerizing effects turmeric may have, it’s also supposed to be an anti-inflammatory, an anti-oxidant and a mood elevator – among other benefits. I woke up this morning feeling like I was coming down with something for the trillionth time this winter, and I was like NOPE too busy for this. So I decided I’d take the soup mom made last night, crank up the yellow and add some ginger and mucho garlic to fight back whatever was trying to make me feel grody. Bad dreams aside, I woke up feeling clean as a whistle this morning – clearly, I’m crediting the soup.

Turmeric Ginger Potato Soup

Adapted from my momma's recipe

Serves four

Note: I went all in on the turmeric/ginger/garlic front because I wanted a magically medicinal experience, but if that ain’t your thing you can dial back the quantities to your taste. 

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, from about a 1" knob, peeled
3/4 cup small diced red onion, from about 1/2 of a medium red onion, peeled
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots (I used yellow ones for fun)
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
2 tablespoons turmeric
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I used my fave Better than Bouillon No Chicken base again)
2 cups large diced Yukon Gold potatoes (I used 4 smallish potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled)
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 lemon, quartered

Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, onion and carrots, and season with salt and pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened but not browning - about 5 minutes.

Add turmeric and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth and potatoes, turn heat up, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to simmer until the potatoes are tender - I left mine going for about 20 minutes but it'll depend on how you cut your potatoes.

Add peas and parsley - the peas will cook really quickly, particularly if you've had them sitting out on the counter since you measured them. Taste broth and adjust seasoning if necessary, then ladle into bowls. Squeeze a lemon quarter into each bowl before serving for a bright acid pop.