Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

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This sweet potato soup is a hearty, wholesome soup to enjoy during fall or winter. Roasting the sweet potatoes enhances their flavor and sweetness.

Is it already getting cooler where you are? It's supposed to be a rainy weekend here for us. The evenings are getting cooler, which means it's that time of the year when soups are always welcome. And, the kids are already talking about going to our winter menu of soup, salad, and bread.

About this soup

The secret to making vegetable soups like pumpkins, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, and parsnips is roasting them. It's the sugars in the vegetables, which caramelize so beautifully, that add to the natural sweetness of the soup. As a result, the taste difference between no-roast and roasted is huge.

Also, if you plan ahead, you can roast these vegetables ahead of time and leave them in the fridge. Then, just make the soup half an hour before dinner. I also roast the onions and garlic. In addition to adding more flavor, it also means that I don't need to waste time sautéing them later.

Secondly, the timeline for this soup is very straight forward.

• Clean veggies - 10 mins
• Roast veggies - 40 mins (can be done 2 days ahead)
• Prepare soup - 20 mins

Ingredients and substitutes

• Sweet potatoes - I like using the orange sweet potatoes, which give a pretty color to the soup. And yet, the other sweet potatoes work just as well.
• Onion - I prefer the Spanish red onion because they add sweetness as they cook into the soup.
• Garlic - A little goes a long way. So, add small fresh garlic. If you are like me, then a few roasted garlic are a treat.
• Nutmeg - Freshly grated nutmeg over soups is always a great flavor, but feel free to omit it.
• Thyme - Adds a nice flavor to sweet potato. If you don't want thyme, another great addition would be half a teaspoon of cumin powder.
• Milk - Today, I am adding milk to my soups instead of cream. This one, in particular, is already thick and smooth when blended. So, the milk adds just the right amount of richness and thickness.
• Cornstarch - The purpose of the cornflour in this recipe is to prevent the milk from curdling when cooking. It's best to never overheat the soup once milk is added.

Step by step instructions (pin)

Roast Sweet Potatoes

• Preheat the oven at 360 F or 180 C.
• Wash and clean the sweet potatoes.
• Using a sturdy cutting board and chef's knife, cut them in half and place on a baking tray with the cut side up.
• Season with salt and pepper and drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil.
• Roast for about 30 to 40 minutes or until fork-tender.
• Remove from the oven, transfer the potatoes to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
• After 15 minutes, uncover the potatoes. They should be easy to peel.
• Roughly chop the cooked sweet potatoes and set aside. The sweet potatoes can be made a few days ahead and kept in the fridge until ready to make soup.

Make soup

• In a soup pot or stockpot - add the remaining olive oil.
• Sauté the onions for a minute until translucent, but not colored.
• Add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and chopped sweet potatoes.
• Sauté a minute more, then add stock and combine well.
• Season with salt and pepper. Then, simmer on medium for 5 minutes.
• Combine cornstarch and milk and add it to the soup (cornstarch prevents the milk from curdling) - combine well.
• Using a hand blender, blend the soup until smooth. Note - If you are using a stand blender, let the soup cool for five minutes and be careful as the hot soup can cause serious burns.
• Taste and adjust seasoning and consistency. Add a little more water if necessary.
• Serve garnished with a dab of butter for flavor.

10 Tips for making perfect healthier soups

1. Choose the right vegetables and pair them appropriately. This is important when making combining two or more veggies together.
2. Know the cooking time of these vegetables. Add the longer cooking vegetables to the pot first or some will be mush while the others will be grainy.
3. When possible, opt for roasting the vegetables. Roasting veggies caramelizes the sugars and brings out the natural sweetness in the vegetables.
4. If possible, make your own homemade stock. This makes a huge difference to homemade soups.
5. If you use ready to use, store-bought stock make sure to under season your vegetables as commercial stocks have tons of salt added to it.
6. You don't always need butter or cream for every soup. Vegetables with high fiber like potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, become very creamy when cooked and pulsed. Which means you can eat them more often if you make them healthier. Right?
7. Often, a dab of butter or cream on the top adds that touch of flavor you need in a soup. So, add just that ½ tsp of butter or 1 tbsp of cream on the top as garnish.
8. Yogurt and milk are a great alternative to full-fat cream. Having said that, both milk and yogurt can split when added to soups. So, add them warm and at the last minute. Then, turn the heat off. OR
9. A teaspoon of cornstarch in every cup of milk will prevent the milk from splitting.
10. While yogurt is a great low-fat addition to soups, it can add a bit of tang which may or may not work with all vegetables.

Frequently asked questions

Some salad recipes to serve with this soup

• Cherry Tomato Mozzarella Salad
• Cabbage Salad with Toasted Sunflower Seeds
• Easy Celery Salad with Cranberries and Pecans
• Carrot Salad with Raisins, Cranberries and nuts
• Ginger Kale with Pine Nuts and Cranberries
• Simple Healthy Kale

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