Sweet Potato Miso Soy Milk Soup

20260113 #breakfastdiary day 1613, -6°C/mostly clear Last night, I happened to read this in a book before falling asleep. Sweet potatoes arrived in Spain right after 1492 and quickly became quite popular thanks to their sweet taste. When potatoes arrived afterward, people confused the two similar-looking plants, batatas and papas. I probably wasn't the only one who had trouble telling potatoes and sweet potatoes apart as a kid. From this confusing blend of the two words came the French patate and the English potato, which gradually came to refer to the potato rather than the sweet potato. In a sense, the sweet potato had its name taken from it — which seems a bit unfair — but the new term patate douce, or sweet potato, was coined and became the go-to word for it today. (Lee Young-mok, The French Enlightenment and the Declaration of the Rights of the Potato) Apparently the tropical sweet potato failed to catch on in Europe's cold climate, while the potato became a staple for Europeans in the 18th century and stole the name 'potato' in the process. Approx. 450kcal Sweet Potato Miso Soy Milk Soup, which today we might otherwise have called 'potato'

300ml soy milk (usually one pack is 190ml), 1/2 onion, 200g sweet potato (1-2), a handful of shimeji mushrooms, 10g butter, 1T flour, 1T miso, a little parsley

1. Thinly slice 1/2 onion and cut the sweet potato into 1-2cm pieces. 2. Heat olive oil in a pot and sauté the onion and shimeji mushrooms. 3. Add the prepped sweet potato, 10g butter, and 1T flour, and mix well. 4. Pour in 200ml water and dissolve 1T miso into it. 5. Pour in 300ml unsweetened soy milk and simmer a bit longer. Serve in a bowl and top with a little chopped parsley.

Inspired by @jmyon_424