Banana Lemongrass Soup

One of my favorite parts of eating out is trying to figure out how to make the recipes at home. Not in that weird kind of secret restaurant recipes kind of way where you make Taco Bell Bean Burritos, because I don't really get that at all. Mine is more like I am only going to get to eat at this restaurant once this year, so I better figure this out if I ever want to eat it again. I admit it is a lot easier now that every recipe you can imagine is posted on the internet.
As soon as I saw Banana Lemongrass Soup on the menu at Ginger in Anchorage I knew it was one I was going  to want to make myself. You don't often see banana in savory dishes, and lemongrass is one of those ingredients I can't readily get my hands on, so I always appreciate it when I have access.
Both at Ginger and in this recipe I loved the depth of flavor in this soup. At Ginger they serve it with little bits of crab and eggplant to give it some texture. I just made mine a simple puree. If I wasgoing to have it as  a meal type soup, I might finely dice a little tofu and add it in. I rarely make soups that require straining and I was hoping I would have to strain this one, but the lemongrass just made the texture too stringy. If you have more experience with lemongrass than I do I would love to hear your suggestions for getting it a little more smooth.

Banana Lemongrass Soup
Inspired by Ginger in Anchorage and adapted from here

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup very ripe bananas, diced
1 cup yellow onions, chopped
1 cup leeks, white and pale green parts, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
3/4 cup carrots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon fresh lemongrass, inside white part chopped and pureed in a food processor
1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek, or other hot chili sauce
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 cup fresh squeezedorange juice
3 1/2 cups  vegetable stock
1 (14 ounce) can  unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt
pepper

Directions
In a heavy, large saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil. Add bananas and saute about 4 minutes or until starting to brown.
Next add the onion, leeks, celery, carrots, garlic, lemongrass, and chili paste. Saute another 10 minutes or until vegetables start to brown.
Add the cumin powder and reduce heat to medium, sauteing the mixture another 2 minutes. Now add the orange juice, reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes.
Add stock, still simmering until the vegetables are tender, about 10 more minutes.
Using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Stir in the coconut milk, and strain through a fine mesh seive. Return to saucepan simmering over medium heat until heated through.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with chopped cilantro.