Sweet potato soup
Aromatic and a good appetiser.
Ingredients
- generous knob of butter
- 400 g sweet potato, prepared and chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 150 ml white wine (optional; replace by stock if not used)
- 600 ml vegetable stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anis
- 100 ml crème fraiche
- salt, white pepper
- 150 ml softly whipped cream
- finely grated zest of an orange
Method
- Melt butter in saucepan, add chopped shallot and sweet potato, gently cook for 5 minutes. Add wine and vegetable stock, cinnamon and star anis. Gently cook at moderate heat for 30 minutes until sweet potato pieces are very soft. Remove cinnamon stick and star anis, puree soup mixture and pass through a fine-meshed sieve. Add crème fraiche, mix and season to taste. Mix softly whipped cream with finely grated orange zest. To serve, top portion of soup with orange cream.
Variations
For an extra-fruity version, replace white wine by orange juice. Use a vanilla pod instead of star anis, or use 2 tbsp of fennel seeds. Replace orange zest by lemon zest.