Creamy Smoked Paprika Sweet Potato and Dill Soup with Butter Grilled Garlic Rye Crisps

 So I had a very large sweet potato lurking in my vegetable basket for like a month, undecided in what to do with it. The current weather situation (freezing cold) had me warming to some soup, especially as I've never made a sweet potato soup before.

Next was what flavour to make it and I was instantly drawn to the smoked paprika sweet potato fries I make every Thanksgiving, they really are gorgeous and the flavours go so well together. So I decided to roast the sweet potato with the onion and garlic and smoked paprika first as it really brings out the flavour in everything. I then deglazed the pan and added all those yummy juices to the soup, which also means you don't need to use any stock powder or cubes here as it's pretty packed with flavour all on it's own!

The dill was a last minute decision however. In the final tasting I just felt it was calling out for it and I always feel paprika, dill and rye go beautifully together.

The 'butter' grilled garlic rye crisps go so well with soup I wouldn't dare make it without them! I've simply grilled rye bread which has been spread with vegan butter then rubbed a cut clove of garlic over them once out of the oven. They are crisp, buttery and garlicky and counter the sweet smoky soup perfectly. 

 Creamy Smoked Paprika and Dill Sweet Potato Soup with Butter Grilled Garlic Rye Crisps

Serves 2 - 4

• 400g prepared weight sweet potato

• 1 large onion

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1½ tsp smoked paprika

• 1 - 1½ tsp smoked sea salt

• 600ml water

• 100ml soy cream

• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tsp dried dill

• plain soy yogurt or vegan sour cream to serve - optional

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• 2 - 4 slices of dark rye bread (1 slice per person)

• vegan butter

• 1 clove garlic

Preheat the oven to 200C / 400F. Peel and cube the sweet potato and roughly chop the onion. Place in a roasting tin with the whole cloves of garlic (skins left on).

In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, smoked paprika and 1 tsp of the smoked sea salt. Pour this over the veg and toss really well until everything is nicely coated.

Pop into the preheated oven and roast for 30 - 40 minutes. Give everything a stir a couple of times. They are done when the sweet potato is soft and some of the onions are charred. Some of the veg should be stuck to the pan as well with no liquid left.

Remove the garlic cloves and squeeze the roasted garlic filling out, stir this into the veg. Scrape the veg into a large pot then deglaze the pan with 100ml of hot water. Use a spatula to scrape all the burnt bits off, you should have a gravy coloured liquid now. Pour this into the pot with the veg and add 500ml of hot water. Stir well and bring this mixture to the boil, stirring often.

Turn off the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Puree in a blender until really smooth and return to a pot.

Make sure you taste it now before adding the lemon juice. I felt it was too sweet for my liking at this stage and added the lemon juice to counter that. You, however may like it just fine as it is. I also added another ½ teaspoon of smoked sea salt at this stage but again, that's down to personal taste. While bringing to heat stir in the dill and soy cream until well blended, taste and adjust per your liking. 

Note - you can of course use fresh dill here. Dill is just one of those herbs I don't find a huge difference in between fresh and dried. Just chop up some fresh dill and add enough that it looks nice and speckled with dill :-)

Ladle into bowls then place a dollop of plain soy yogurt or vegan sour cream on top, if using. I then dusted that with a really HOT smoked paprika I have, just for a little extra kick.

To make the butter grilled garlic rye crisps: put your oven grill on then cut a slice of dark rye bread into triangles. Grill on one side until crisp and golden, remove from the oven, flip over, spread with vegan butter and pop back under the grill until bubbly, golden and you have charred edges.

Remove from the oven and generously run a cut clove of garlic over the butter side of the bread. Make sure you use the cut side of the clove of garlic as well.

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Nutritional Information: based on soup only, 1 out of 4 servings.

Calories: 197 

Protein: 2.6g

Fat: 9.7g

Sat Fat: 1.4g

Carbs: 26.3g

Sugar: 6.3g

Fibre: 3.7g

Sodium: 943mg (for the full amount of salt)

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