Creamy 'potato' and leek soup, made nightshade-free

A creamy, comforting soup belongs in every season, and this one gives you all of it. White potato is a nightshade, so this version builds the same soft, familiar body from white sweet potato instead, which carries its own gentle sweetness and a flavor every bit as satisfying.

This is food doing real work. White sweet potato is a source of potassium, involved in steady fluid balance and muscle function, and it supplies vitamin A, which supports the lining of the gut and the skin. The bone broth base adds collagen and glycine, which support the gut wall many people are working to settle. Leeks and onion bring prebiotic fiber that supports the bacteria already doing good work in your digestion.

There is something honest about a soup like this. It asks for almost nothing and gives back warmth, color, and a quiet sense that you are being cared for at your own table. Let the steam rise. Let the bowl be enough.

Ingredients

• 2 leeks, whites and greens kept separate
• 2 Tbsp cooking fat of choice, plus 1 Tbsp for the garnish
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 1.5 lb white sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces (in place of white potato, which is a nightshade)
• 1 tsp truffle salt
• 2 cups homemade beef bone broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Green onion to garnish (omit sunflower seeds, which are excluded during AIP elimination)

Swaps made: white sweet potato replaces white potato; the sunflower seed garnish is omitted since seeds come out during elimination. Everything else is AIP Core compliant as written.

Method

• Warm 2 Tbsp fat in the pot. Add the leek whites and the chopped onion and cook gently about 10 minutes, until soft and sweet. On an Instant Pot, use saute mode for this step.
• Add the sweet potato, truffle salt, and bone broth. Cook until the potato is very tender.
• Pour in the coconut milk and blend until silky, with an upright blender or an immersion blender right in the pot.
• While the soup finishes, char the leek greens in the remaining 1 Tbsp fat for 5 to 7 minutes and scatter them over each bowl.

Instant Pot variation

Saute the leek whites and onion in 2 Tbsp fat for about 10 minutes on saute mode. Add the sweet potato, salt, and broth, seal, and pressure cook 8 minutes, then quick-release. Stir in the coconut milk and blend silky. Char the leek greens separately for the topping. (Pressure time per source; appliance-tested at 8 minutes.)

Stovetop variation

Saute the leek whites and onion in fat about 10 minutes in a pot. Add the sweet potato, salt, and broth, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until very tender, roughly 1.5 to 2x the pressure-cook time. Blend with the coconut milk. The simmer time is an estimate, so check for fork-tenderness rather than the clock.

*Adapted from grazed-and-enthused*