Comforting Carrot Sweet Potato Soup Recipe

My carrot sweet potato soup recipe is a great fall comfort food with amazing health benefits.

I was living in Auckland, New Zealand when I first made this soup. At that time I was experimenting with different soups and trying out different flavor combinations. On a whim I decided to try out carrot and sweet potatoes with some onion and ginger thrown into the mix. I was more than amazed by the resulting flavor and this has become one of my favorite soups to make during autumn and winter.

Since I had run out of crackers and bread, I toasted some tortillas I had leftover and found out they make a great soup accompaniment.

I hope you will enjoy my carrot sweet potato soup recipe with fresh ginger.

All Images: © Tara Wojtaszek, 2012. Carrot sweet potato soup with toasted tortilla .

This soup includes ingredients with amazing health properties

Sweet Potatoes are a great source of vitamins B6, C , D and E. They are also a good source of iron, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene and manganese. Sweet potatoes are great for your body both inside and out. They boost your immune system, reduce the risk of heart attacks, have anti-cancer and anti-aging properties, are great for your skin and can help reduce stress. Although they have a sweet taste, their natural sugars are released slowly so you don't experience the sugar spike that you can from artificially sweetened foods. They are also an excellent source of fiber (almost double the fiber of regular potatoes).

Carrots are not only great for your eyesight, they also are beneficial to your skin, heart, teeth and gums. Carrots are cleansing in nature and therefore have anti-cancer and anti-aging properties, and they also help reduce your risk for having a stroke. Carrots are a great source of fiber as well as vitamins B1, B2, B6, and K, biotin, potassium and thiamine.

Ginger has anti-cancer properties and is great for alleviating nausea. You can use ginger to help with motion sickness and morning sickness during pregnancy (I popped candied ginger like nobody's business when I was pregnant). Ginger is great for boosting your immunity during cold and flu season and can also be used to ease the pain of migraines and menstrual cramps.

Onions are an excellent source of quercitin, an anti-oxidant linked with lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol. Quercitin also helps with respiratory ailments including bronchitis, asthma and allergy symptoms. Onions have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties and are great for detoxification. Surprisingly onions are also a great source of vitamin C.

Ingredients:

2 x large (but not humongous) sweet potatoes

1 x large onion

5 x large carrots

1 inch square piece of fresh ginger

4 x garlic cloves

4 x cups vegetable or chicken broth

6 x cups water

sea salt, cayenne pepper (optional)

tortilla, bread, or crackers

Preparation:

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into cubes, add to your soup pot. Repeat with the onion. I usually don't bother to peel the carrots, I just give then a good wash and then cut them into rings. You will eventually be pureeing this soup so don't worry about cutting the veggies too finely, just aim for an approximately uniform size. Peel and quarter your garlic cloves and add to the pot. Peel the ginger and grate. When I first started making this soup I used ground ginger (and that is definitely an option if you don't have fresh ginger) but I've started using fresh ginger and the taste is so much richer and more fragrant. Add to soup pot with the vegetable or chicken stock and water.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Allow to simmer until thoroughly cooked, about an hour.

You can add the salt and pepper while the soup is cooking if you like, or you can cook without seasoning and add salt and pepper later. This is a great option if you have different family members who like food spicier than others. Nowdays I cook everything without salt and pepper so I can give some to my baby without worrying about her sodium intake. With this batch I didn't even end up adding salt or pepper to my portion, it was fabulous as is.

Once cooked through, remove from the heat and allow to cool. The carrot sweet potato soup doesn't have to cool completely, just enough that you won't burn yourself when blending. Trust me on this. I was impatient once and decided to blend while hot. I ended up with a second degree burn when some splashed on my wrist.

You can either use a hand blender (my favorite option) or you can transfer to a blender in batches. Once pureed, reheat and serve with crackers, toast, or toasted tortilla.

I like to pop a tortilla in the toaster oven (you may need to poke a hole in the center if the middle starts to inflate) and then I cut into wedges once thoroughly toasted.

Hand blenders are so convenient. I use mine for blending soups and to ensure my pancake batter is thoroughly mixed.

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