Right Now Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup

Never Miss a Recipe!

Follow on Facebook, CookEatShare or Subscribe to the Free Monthly Newsletter

Let's Dig In!

April showers bring May flowers and the change in temperature has a way of bringing on unwanted colds.

I was thinking…instead of using soup as a remedy (which I typically do) why not prepare a batch now and use it to prevent catching a miserable cold that can put you in the dumper! I have absolutely no proof soup can do that, but I do know this Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup is packed with nutrition…that has to count for something…right? Color rich carrots and vitamin rich sweet potato are puréed with chicken broth (Kalyn's Blog describes how to make your own) which some believe has its own mystical healing powers.

Obviously we don’t want our cold prevention soup tasting like medicine. Blah! Since it’s maple syrup season this soup includes ¼ cup of the magic syrup (use honey as a substitute if you don't have pure maple syrup) to sweeten things up! Cinnamon loves sweet so a ½ tsp of the ground variety is stirred in. Mildly spicy paprika, ginger and nutmeg round out the flavors. The result is a sweet and savory soup that disappeared quickly when I served it to my family this past weekend!

Hip Cooking Tip: To shorten my prep time, I used a food processor to slice the carrots, sweet potato and onions. The processor did it in a matter of seconds and I didn’t have to worry about how they looked because I knew they were going to be puréed anyway.

Musical Pairing:  My song suggestion for this downright healthy recipe is “Right Now” by Van Halen. It’s an energizing and feel-good song and it also sends the message to not put things off…like making this soup. Do it now and you may not end up sick in bed later.

What soup do you rely on to overcome a cold?

Right Now Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup
A sweet and savory combination of carrots, sweet potato and pure maple syrup 

Instruments
2 tbsp butter
3 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and thinly sliced
¼ cup sliced red onion
¼ cup pure maple syrup
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger or ¼ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp each ground cinnamon and paprika
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups chicken broth
¼ tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper


Lyrics
In a large soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add carrots, sweet potato and onions. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add syrup, ginger, cinnamon, paprika and nutmeg. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until vegetables are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

Working in batches, purée soup in a blender until smooth.  Ladle hot soup into individual serving bowls and serve.

Volume: Makes 6 servings
* * * *
Brent Garell (@kitchenroadie)
brent@cookapalooza.com