Thai-Inspired Sweet Potato Ginger Soup

4 medium sweet potatoes, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup ginger root slices, minced
6 cups vegetable broth (low sodium or homemade, so the sodium content won't be as high as the calculator says!)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into sticks that will fit into pan
2 tbsp fresh basil

Heat oven to 400.
Toss the diced sweet potatoes with 1 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Spread ina single layer onto a baking sheet. Roast the sweet potatoes until soft and caramelized, about an hour.
While the potatoes roast, heat the remaining olive oil in a large soup pot. Saute the garlic and ginger in the olive oil for about two minutes, then add the vegetable broth and lemongrass pieces. Simmer while you wait for the potatoes to finish roasting.
When the potatoes are finished roasting, add them to the soup pot, and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.
A couple of minutes before you are ready to eat, add the fish sauce and the coconut milk, gently mixing them into the soup.
Serve garnished with the fresh basil.

Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CAKE-OR-DEATH.