Sweet Potato and Tart Apple Soup

By Sidonie Maroon

Techniques: Instant Pot and Oven Roasted

Makes 6 cups

A recipe for “Yam and Apple Soup” in The Chesapeake Bay Cookbook by John Shields intrigued me. A fine Eastern Shore duo, it read. Indeed! A fine duo for showcasing my favorite technique of making a soup’s broth out of its scraps. And an example of adding roasted flavors to soup. I rewrote the recipe, adding tart apple, spices, roasting, and designer broth, but kept the whipped cream topping with maple syrup and grated nutmeg. Why ever not! It’s a delightful bright, creamy soup that’ll become a family favorite.  

INGREDIENTS

To Roast:

⅓ cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large Red Garnet sweet potato, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups) (reserve peels and ends)

1 medium tart apple (Pink Lady or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped (reserve peels and core, removing the seeds)

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

For Broth

4 cups water

Sweet potato peels and ends

Apple peels and core with seeds removed

1 medium onion, chopped

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 allspice berries, crushed

3 slices fresh ginger (¼ inch thick)

2 teaspoons fennel seed

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt 

2 bay leaves

To Finish

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or to taste

½ teaspoon flaked sea salt

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Optional Garnish

Freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups lightly whipped cream flavored with 2 tablespoons maple syrup

dIRECTIONS

1. Prep all the produce, creating the broth ingredients as you prepare the roasting ingredients. Measure out the spices. To make the soup, you’ll use both the oven and Instant Pot, and then puree the roasted produce and broth together.

2 Add all the broth ingredients to the Instant Pot. Make sure the seal is in place and put on the lid. Set to broth cycle or high pressure for 30 minutes with a natural release. After the cycle is complete, strain the broth through a sieve into blender jar.

3 Preheat the oven to 425 F. Lay all the roasting ingredients on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Dab with the butter and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 20 minutes. Stir and continue to roast for another 20 minutes or until soft. Be careful not to let the food on the edges of the pan burn. Lift the parchment paper and slide the roasted produce into the blender jar with the broth. Puree at a high speed until smooth. 

4. Bring the soup back up to serving temperature in the Instant Pot. Taste and add the finishing ingredients as needed.

5.Serve the soup hot with dollops of whipped cream and grated nutmeg.