Sweet Potatoes Make For A Hearty Soup Base

It's a safe bet to presume there are soup recipes in today's column because it's colder, furnaces are running and it just seems like a fall thing to do.

How about trying something different from the regular soup fare, such as sweet potatoes?

From allrecipes.com come Sweet Potato Minestrone and Sweet Potato and Apple Soup. One is vegetarian, the other not. But either could be adapted to the other by merely changing the broth used. And, for the minestrone, another possible addition would be cooked pasta tubes or bows.

Sweet Potato Minestrone

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 large stalks celery, chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 (28-ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes

5 cups vegetable broth

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

2 large carrots, sliced thin

6 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

5 cloves garlic, minced

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, celery, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with the juice, broth, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition data per serving: 247 calories; 26 calories from fat; 3g fat; 1g saturated fat; no cholesterol; 589mg sodium; 50g carbohydrates; 7g fiber; 25g sugar; 5g protein; 663mg potassium.

- Source: allrecipes.com

Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

2 (1-pound) sweet potatoes, quartered

1 large tart apple, peeled and cored

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 bay leaf

5 cups chicken broth

1 cup cream

1 5-ounce lemon, zested and juiced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes and apple on a greased baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender. Cool. Peel sweet potatoes.

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrot and bay leaf; saute until tender. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Pour in the chicken broth, and add the sweet potato and apple. Puree in batches using a regular blender, or use a submersible blender to puree while in the pot.

Return to the soup pot, and stir in the cream, lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Heat through, but do not boil. Ladle into serving bowls, and garnish with crumbled cheese.

Makes 10 servings.

Nutrition data per serving: 216 calories; 108 calories from fat; 12g fat; 6g saturated fat; 36mg cholesterol; 680mg sodium; 26g carbohydrates; 4g fiber; 8g sugar; 3g protein; 427mg potassium.

- Source: allrecipes.com

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