Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup!

We had a 3lb bag of carrots in the fridge as well as a few sweet potatoes from the farmer's market in the cupboard.  Plus, it is the first day that actually feels like Fall (and in South Carolina, I know it won't last).  Therefore, I decided to make a nice root-veggie soup with carrots, onion and sweet potato.

Recipe
Yield Approximately 3 servings

Soup Ingredients:
1/4 c Butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 lb bag of carrots, washed and ends cut off
1 large or 2-3 small sweet potatoes
2 c Chicken broth (I make my own, but canned or boxed work too)
1 t Ginger powder
2 t Garlic powder or 1 t fresh minced garlic
1 sprig Rosemary (dried works, but will have to be strained out later to get the texture)
1/2 c Buttermilk (Half and Half or Whipping cream would work too if you prefer) plus small amount for drizzle
3 T Lemon Juice
2 t Apple Pie Spice
1 Cinnamon Stick
2 t salt

Croutons:
About 4 slices fresh Italian bread, cut into cubes
1/4 c Olive Oil or Melted Butter
1 t Garlic powder
2 t Apple Pie Spice


Step 1: Preheat oven to 300.  In a dutch oven, sauté onions in butter until translucent.  About 7-10 minutes on med-high heat, stirring frequently.

Step 2:  Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Cut carrots and sweet potatoes into a more manageable size and add to the pot.  Reduce heat to medium.

Step 3:  Add Ginger, Garlic, Rosemary, Apple Pie Spice and Cinnamon stick to the pot.  Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes (until veggies are soft).

Step 4:  While the soup simmers, toss cubed bread in a bowl with oil/butter, garlic and apple pie spice.  Spread evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 300, turning once at 10 minutes.

Step 5:  Remove Rosemary sprig and Cinnamon stick from the pot.  Remove soup from heat.

Step 6:  This is where you can choose one of a few ways to work with your soup.  Basically, you want to puree it as smooth as possible.  I use an immersion blender and a China Cap, but you could also put the soup in a blender or food processor to achieve the same smooth consistency.

Step 7:  Pour the soup back into the pot and turn on a low heat.  Slowly stir in the lemon juice and salt (more or less of both can be used based on taste).  Once the soup has heated back up, slowly add the milk, stirring frequently.  Cook until warmed through.

Step 8:  Ladle your soup into bowls, drizzle with milk and top with croutons!  Enjoy!