Kanuchi
Kanuchi is a seasonal soup handed down by the Cherokees for generations.
Ingredients
- 12 ozs. Pecans
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp. Maple Syrup
- 1 Large Sweet Potato cut into 1/2-inch dice and roasted
Instructions
- First, I gathered up all my ingredients. There aren’t many for this soup!
- Next, I put the pecans into the food processor and pulsed them until they formed a paste. Iadled one tablespoon of water to the food processor, but my balls weren’t as sticky or as formed as original Kanuchi, since I used a food processor instead of pounding the nuts by hand.
- I split the nutpaste into three balls. I put two balls into the freezer for later use and I set one ball aside for this recipe.
- Then I prepared my sweet potato. I preheated my oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. I peeled and chopped the sweet potato into 1-inch cubes. I coated the cubes in oil and seasoned them with salt. Then I spread them out onto a cooking sheet and placed them in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning them once or twice to make sure they were evenly roasted.
- Then I put one nut-paste ball into a saucepan with 1 quart (1 liter) of water and a teaspoon of kosher salt. I brought the mixture to a boil and whisked it well to incorporate it.
- Next, I reduced the heat and let the soup simmer, uncovered, for around 30 minutes or until the moisture content has been reduced to about half. It needs to be stirred from time to time.
- After half an hour, I added the maple syrup. I increased the temperature to high heat, and letit boil until everything was well-incorporated. At this stage, you can add moresalt if you like.
- I didn’t strainmy soup since I used commercially-sold pecans instead of hickory nuts. But youcan strain yours if you want it to be finer or if you used hickory nuts andthere might be some shells left in the soup.
- I served my kanuchi over rice and topped with roasted sweet potatoes. It has a flavor mild flavor that is slightly nutty and slightly sweet. The soup is somewhat grainy,but you could strain it or process the nuts more finely if you desire.
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