Sweet Potato, Carrot and Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
- 3 tomatoes
- 2 carrots
- 1/2 sweet potato
- 1/2 parsley root
- 1/4 onion
- 1 garlic clove
-
1 teaspoon clarified butter
- a few fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- a pinch of sea salt
- a pinch of black pepper
-
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
Buy Winter is in full swing. It’s worth warming up your body with some hot soup. Today I have a recipe for sweet potato, carrot and tomato cream soup.
Why the sweet potato is blanched first
Blanching softens the sweet potato before it goes into the pot, so it cooks through at the same rate as the carrot and the tomatoes. Skip it and you end up either with firm cubes of sweet potato or with tomatoes cooked to nothing while you wait for them.
Half a sweet potato is enough for the whole pot. It is there for body and sweetness rather than as the main ingredient, which is what keeps this soup lighter than a pure sweet potato cream.
Parsley root and turmeric, the two you might skip
Parsley root is the ingredient that makes this taste like a soup rather than a purée. It brings a savoury, slightly peppery depth that carrot and sweet potato, both sweet, cannot provide on their own. Parsnip is the closest substitute, celeriac works too but takes over more.
The turmeric is there for warmth and colour, and a teaspoon in a pot this size is enough to be felt without dominating. Add it with the vegetables rather than at the end, so it has time to cook out.
Why a teaspoon of coconut sugar
Tomatoes cooked with root vegetables can come out sharp, especially outside tomato season when they have less sweetness of their own. A single teaspoon of coconut sugar rounds that acidity off. It is a correction, not a sweetener, so taste before adding it: with ripe summer tomatoes you may not need it at all.
Getting the consistency you want
Pour in just enough water to cover the vegetables, no more. Thin soup is easy to fix at the end by adding hot water, while a soup that is already too thin cannot be thickened without cooking it down and losing the fresh basil note.
Blend it fully smooth, then stir the basil in off the heat so it keeps its aroma. Soups like this reheat well and are worth making in a double batch, which is easier to plan when the whole week of meals is set out in advance.
Preparation
I blanched the potatoes, washed, peeled and diced the remaining vegetables. Next, I heated the clarified butter in a pot, added the onion, finely chopped garlic and fried them for a short time. Then I put in the diced vegetables and poured in enough water to cover them. I added the spices and cooked until tender. At the end I stirred in fresh basil and blended the soup until smooth.
Sweet potato, carrot and tomato cream soup
Ingredients
Method
- Blanch the sweet potato.
- Wash, peel and dice the remaining vegetables.
- Heat the clarified butter in a pot, add the onion and the finely chopped garlic and fry them for a short time.
- Add the diced vegetables and pour in enough water to cover them.
- Add the turmeric, salt, pepper and coconut sugar, then cook until the vegetables are tender.
- Stir in the fresh basil and blend the soup until smooth.
Notes
Frequently asked questions
The recipe blanches it rather than peeling it, and blanching is the part that matters: it softens the sweet potato so it cooks through at the same rate as the carrot and the tomatoes. Peel it if the skin is thick or damaged, otherwise it blends away completely.
Parsnip is the closest, with a similar sweet and slightly peppery character. Celeriac works too but takes over more of the flavour. Parsley root is what stops this tasting like a purée of two sweet vegetables, so it is worth replacing rather than omitting.
To round off the acidity of the tomatoes, which can come out sharp when cooked with root vegetables, especially outside tomato season. One teaspoon in the whole pot is a correction, not a sweetener, so taste first: with ripe summer tomatoes you may not need it.
Pour in only enough water to cover the vegetables. A soup that turns out too thick is easy to fix with hot water at the end, while one that is already too thin can only be reduced by cooking it down, which costs you the fresh basil aroma. Blend fully smooth, then stir the basil in off the heat.
Yes, and it is worth making a double batch, since blended vegetable soups freeze and reheat well. Add the fresh basil after reheating rather than before freezing, because it loses its aroma. There is also a creamy sweet potato and zucchini soup on the blog if you want a lighter version. And if you would rather have the whole week of meals planned, the Diet & Training by Ann app puts the menu and the shopping list together.
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