Roasted Yam and Smoked Gouda Soup

When I was out and about on my little mini-tour a few weeks ago, I was graced with full spreads for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Despite the fact that I seldom eat a multi-course meal when I am at home, I found myself indulging in soups and salads, then mains, followed by desserts (and, yes, often in the plural sense).

In Winnipeg, I found myself stuck on the various soups that were coming out of the arena catering department. In particular, the Smoked Gouda and Sweet Potato soup caught my attention. A small bowl was more than enough, as this was more of a cheese soup than a vegetable one. Incredibly rich and unapologetically cheesy.

My soup definitely leans more to being a vegetable than a cheese soup... but I had three different taste-testers on this soup and they all raved.



Roasted Yam and Smoked Gouda Soup

Ingredients:

3 cups roasted yams (and maybe a stray clove or two of garlic)*

* I used yams rather than sweet potatoes because I wanted a stronger tasting veg base for this soup. Similar to the roasted carrot soup, if you didn't make the roasted veg or don't have time, you can always saute the yams until they are cooked through, then carry on...

2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk

1 tablespoon flour

200g smoked gouda

You will love how simple this soup is... Toss your roasted yams and garlic into your pot and warm them. Sprinkle one tablespoon of flour over the roasted veg and stir to coat. (This will help thicken the soup.) Add your chicken stock and milk. Then blend with an immersion or regular blender. While the soup cooks together, grate your cheese. The soup should be simmering nicely at this point. Melt the grated cheese into the soup. If it needs salt or pepper, add away... but it should be well seasoned from the first part of the cooking process.

Dish up.

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Cookin' music... Martha Wainwright's You Cheated Me... maybe I cheated you outta a bit of a cheese in this soup. You'll forgive me though. :P