Minoo kicked start the Caring Place Community Kitchen with two dishes. The first dish is Roasted Sweet Potato soup with orange and ginger. You may make this dish with yam, pumpkin or other winter squashes.

This Roasted Sweet Potato Soup is a creamy soup flavoured with orange zest and grated ginger. It is best served warm. The creaminess of the soup comes from the sour cream. However, you may substitute the sour cream with a couple tablespoons of peanut butter and it’s equally good.

Ingredients

• 6 cups peeled, cubed yams or sweet potatoes (about 3 large ones)
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onions
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 cups low-fat chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon each grated orange zest and gingerroot
• 1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin and salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
• Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnishing

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Place yams, onions, olive oil and garlic in a large bowl. Mix well.

Spray a shallow roasting pan with non-stick spray.  Add the yams, onion and garlic mixture. Roast, uncovered at 425F for 25 minutes. Stir once, halfway through cooking time. If you are short of time, you may skip the roasting part. However, the roasting will gives the soup a better aroma.

Bring the chicken soup to a boil in a soup pot. Transfer the roasted yam mixture into the pot. Add orange zest, gingerroot, cumin , salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Use a hand held blander to puree the soup. Other wise, working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Lastly, add sour cream for the extra creaminess.