Sweet potato and ginger soup served with croutons

This soup is super amazing and a must try out for two main reasons.

1. The soup gets its amazing thick texture from pureed sweet potatoes and carrots rather than from dairy products or creams which have saturated fats.

2. Both main ingredients are rich in vitamin A and beta-carotene.

Ingredients;

• 1 shallot (chopped)
• 4 large sweet potatoes (cubed)
• 2 carrots (peeled and cubed)
• Fresh ginger (grated)
• Curry powder
• Virgin olive oil/ canola oil
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 3 cups chicken broth

Note: Shallots look like small elongated onions but with copper, reddish or grey skin. Once you peel, it divides into cloves like garlic rather than one bulb with concentric layers like an onion.

Method;

Heat oil in a large cooking pan, add chopped shallots and allow them to sauté over low-medium heat.

Add the carrots, sweet potatoes and curry into the cooking pan, cook for 2 minutes then add the broth, cover the pan and bring the meal to boil for 25 minutes, or until the ingredients are tender.

Stir in salt ginger and pepper then simmer for 5 minutes and switch off the heat.

Pour half the soup into a food processor, pulse until smooth then set aside and work on the other half of the soup.

Ingredients;

Croutons

• 6 Slices of bread (cubed)
• White pepper and salt
• Melted butter/olive oil.
• Parmesan cheese. (Finely grated)
• Dried Italian herbs (optional)

Note: Fried croutons can end up with a chewy interior if they don’t cook all the way through.

Method;

Cut slightly stale/dry bread into cubes.

If all you have around is fresh bread, pre-toast the cubes in a 90°c oven for ten minutes or until dry at the surface.

Warm butter or olive oil in a cooking pan, heat until the butter has melted or the olive oil is shimmering.

Note: Just so you know, butter burns at a lower temperature so it tends to create darker croutons.

Pour the butter in a large bowl then add the bread cubes in and mix until well coated. If the bread still looks dry, pour more melted butter on top.

Stir in salt and pepper to taste, add the Italian seasoning and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese in the bowl and stir gently.

Fry the croutons over medium heat, once the bases have browned turn them to expose another side to the heat. The croutons are ready once they’re mostly golden brown, they'll smell toasted not burnt.

Let them cool on a paper towel, so as to release steam and absorb excess fat. 

Serve and dig in.