10.05.2006

Beautiful Fall Soup: Roasted Spiced Sweet Potato


Fall into this bowl


Sometimes I forget how much I love sweet potatoes. But just look at them!

Underneath the gnarly, arthritic looking skin is a vegetable of yes, uncommon sweetness. I can't think of any other vegetable so pleasantly and naturally sugary. Parsnips and beets are tempting, but they both have an underlying earthy, dirty taste that screams ROOT vegetable.

No, sweet potatoes are far superior. Just about any way you cook them, they reward you with their velvety, gentle flesh and an extraordinary color that exists outside of the Crayola box. I imagine being wrapped in a soft, sweet potato-colored cashmere blanket when I eat this soup.

Can you tell I'm looking forward to the chill of fall?

Roasted Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 red onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon hot chili powder (or use mild if you don't want the heat)
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
5 cups chicken stock or water
Creme fraiche
Pumpkin seed oil
Minced chives

Heat your oven to 450 degrees. Toss the sweet potato on a large baking sheet or roasting pan with the onion, olive oil, spices, and salt and pepper to taste ( I use at least a teaspoon of kosher salt here ).

Roast about 15 minutes, until everything is softened and browned.

In a large saucepan, bring the broth or water to a simmer. Add the roasted potatoes and puree with an immersion blender or regular blender until velvety smooth. Taste for seasoning; you'll probably need more salt.

Garnish with a spoonful of creme fraiche, a swirl of pumpkin seed oil, and some chives.



Copyright (c) 2006 FamilyStyle

7 comments:

Alanna Kellogg said...

Now I wish I'd roasted the sweet potatoes alongside the potatoes yesterday! This is gorgeous ... lovely descriptions, too.

Brilynn said...

That really is a beautiful bowl of soup! Sweet potatoes are fantastic.

Joe said...

Beautiful Soup!

Anonymous said...

every time i log on to your blog, karen, i'm inspired! i'll be making your soup this weekend, as long as it's not too hot out. any ideas for acorn squash? i picked up two beautiful buggers at whole foods this weekend, just so i could use them for a fall centerpiece. but i'll have to crack them open at some point. pray, tell if you have an idea!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

Always looking for new things to do with sweet potatoes. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Very simple recipe for cooking so amazing flavor soup. And very informative blog with wonderful pictures.I can't wait to try some more of the recipes!

Anonymous said...

Went to the market this afternoon to pick up items in this recipe; I'm making it for lunch tomorrow.