I opened my cupboard on Friday to find my sweet potatoes had sprouted and were growing right through the bags! So it was definitely time to do something with them. I considered doing dumplings but really needed something more, um, put in a pot and walk away for a while. So I wondered if sweet potato soup was something I could do – I’ve made regular potato soup so why not sweet potato? I googled and found that the recipes are almost identical to my butternut squash soup recipe (which I had made the week before). So here is the recipe for both – the steps are the same and the spices can be interchanged easily.
Butternut squash is a favourite around this house – so whenever I see good quality squash available at the grocery store I pick it up. The best time of the year to get amazing squash is, of course, autumn. But if you know what to look for you can get decent one in the spring too. The key is to pick them up. They should be very heavy for their size. I usually go for a couple of the smallest but heaviest squashes.
Once you have the squashes or sweet potato for your soup then you are ready to go. Again I’m big on use what you have or what you can find. You can size up or down this recipe to suit what you have.
What you will need:
- A large pot that will hold 4 litres or more like a soup/stock pot.
- a peeler
- a sharp knife
- a cutting board
- a spoon
- something to stir with
- a blender!
- many jars or containers to store finished soup
- two small/ medium squashes OR two very large or 5 smaller yams/sweet potatoes in general about a kilo or a little more than couple of pounds of squash or yams. (It is also possible to mix them together in one soup – I’ve done it it’s yummy.)
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 cloves of garlic – (optional for sweet potato, really good in butternut squash)
- 1 tbsp of vegetable canola or light olive oil
- 1 to 2 litres of stock ( vegetable or chicken)
- salt
- pepper
- 2-3 tsp of a mix of thyme and sage and a bay leaf ( I use this most often for butternut squash) OR garam masala
(yummy add ins at the end of cooking – fresh herbs, roasted nuts, rice, beans)
First take every thing out.
Then peel the squash and/or the sweet potatoes. For the squash, scoop out the seeds and save them. Rinse with water. Put aside for a few moments.
Put the pot on the stove, add the oil and turn on the burner to medium heat. (When pre heating start lower than you think you will need – heating pans on high heat can warp and damage them)
Get your onion, put in on the cutting board and cut off the top and the bottom ( hard round end and sprout-y end). Peel off the outer layer(s) until you hit the outer most shiny crisp layer.
Roughly cut onion. Big chunks are fine as we will blend the soup. Toss them in the pot. Add a little salt.
Cook onions till translucent. Add garlic if you are using it and cook with onions for a few stirs. Add in spices. Stir a few more times.
Add in squash or sweet potato. then add in stock. Enough to cover the vegetables and have them float a bit.
Turn the burner up to medium high and bring to a boil. Once it boils turn the burner down to medium so it is at a rapid simmer/ low boil for 30 minutes or so. You know it’s all cooked when you can easily pierce the squash or potato with a fork – or can cut a piece in half with the side of the fork.
Turn the burner off and let it cool for at least 10 – 15 minutes. ( don’t blend boiling soup – it’s a bad idea)
Ladle 3-4 cups of warmish soup into the blender and blend on low for a few seconds and then pulse a few times until the soup is smooth. Pour into a bowl or containers. Repeat until it’s all smooth a delicious.
The thickness of the soup will depend on the amount of stock you added, and how much it boiled and for how long. If you think it is too thin return it to the pot and simmer longer. if it is too thick add it back to the pot with stock or water and bring back to a boil.
Voila! Soup! Guten Apetit!
Butternut Squash Soup:
baroquegoddess 