Baked Sweet Potato Soup

If I am ever asked to compose a list of only 10 foods I could eat for the remainder of my life, sweet potatoes would – without question – be number 1. Why I disliked this superfood as a kid, I have no clue, but I’d have a difficult time living without the orange-fleshed vegetable now. Sweet potatoes require no ingredient additions to taste absolutely divine, but when dressed up a bit, they become nothing short of transcendent.

In this recipe, sweet potatoes are baked until they become so soft that the skin practically peels itself away from the flesh. The tender potato flesh is stirred into a butter-less yet creamy milk base, combined with tangy goat cheese and Greek yogurt, and finished off with a crown of dried cranberries and toasted pecans. The resulting soup is incredibly thick, surprisingly filling, and undeniably comforting.

Baked Sweet Potato Soup

inspired by Baked Potato Soup from Cooking Light

yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups 2% reduced fat milk
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup 2% Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400*F.
Place potatoes directly on oven rack and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until very soft. Let rest until cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, scoop out the flesh, and coarsely mash in a bowl.
Place flour in a pot or Dutch oven and gradually add in the milk, whisking until blended. Cook over medium heat until thickened, (about 8 minutes), whisking often. Add in the mashed sweet potato flesh, crumbled goat cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and cinnamon. Stir until the goat cheese melts. Reduce stove heat to low.
Stir in the Greek yogurt and cook over low heat until heated through, a few minutes. Serve topped with the pecans and dried cranberries.