Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

We are at the beginning of yet another winter snowstorm (enough already! But… it’s only January…) and I am hoping to get through the next week or so without having to go out to the store. It’s a little dicey on the milk front, but I think that we will have enough to eat otherwise.

Honestly, it’s not as though we’re expecting a huge amount of snow (and I’m remembering the 2-1/2 feet we got in 2 days last February), but I washed the car recently. :) It’s a black car, and looked grey for the holidays because the temps were too cold to even think about dragging the hose outside.

Anyway, this is soup weather. A friend posted a recipe for Roasted Sweet Potato Soup with Fresh Rosemary the other day, and I though I’d give it a go.

She did remark, however, that she thought the soup was a little bland. My first inclination was to add a diced chipotle pepper, sub lime for lemon juice, and add some fresh cilantro in lieu of rosemary. Alas, I have no fresh limes or cilantro on hand. I did have a half lemon in the refrigerator, so I used that and made a few more changes.

Jack and I both thought that it was excellent soup, thick and very flavorful. I garnished with a swirl of thinned sour cream and some smoked paprika which I have to say is essential. Because I didn’t want to heat the big stove, I halved the recipe and used my toaster oven to roast only a pound of sweet potatoes. Not a good idea, I would have loved to have the leftovers tomorrow.

The original recipe used a crock pot, but I made it on the stovetop. Here is my version:

* Exported from MasterCook *

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Servings: 4

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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2 pounds sweet potatoes -- peeled, cut in cubes

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 small onion -- chopped

1 medium carrot -- chopped

1 stalk celery -- chopped

2 large garlic cloves -- finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary -- chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme -- crushed

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper -- (or 1/2 teaspoon for more spice)

1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

3 cups low-salt chicken broth

2 cups water

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tablespoons lowfat cream cheese

2 tablespoons skim milk

smoked paprika

In a bowl, mix the sweet potatoes with half the oil and half the salt. Spread the sweet potatoes on an oiled baking sheet and roast at 450F for around 20 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

In the meantime, heat the rest of the oil at medium heat in a skillet. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, chopped rosemary, crushed thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and the rest of the salt and cook, stirring, for about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add the broth, water, and roasted sweet potato cubes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice.

In a food processor or blender (or, best, an immersion blender), puree the soup until thickened. Add water to think to desired consistency, if desired.

In a small cup, whisk the sour cream and milk together.

Divide the soup between 4 bowls, using a spoon place a swirl of the thinned sour cream on top, and sprinkle with smoked paprika.

Yield:

"6 cups"

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Per serving: 297 Calories (kcal); 11g Total Fat (2g Saturated); (28% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 48g Carbohydrate; 4mg Cholesterol; 391mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 2 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates

A thought… I have a lot of pumpkins in the basement (2010 was a very good pumpkin harvest in the garden) and I just may try this soup next using pumpkin.