It's a given, potatoes will explode in a microwave if you don't poke them, right? Have you ever tried it?
A few years ago the US Potato Board came to the magazine I was working for and showed us new techniques for baking, mashing and roasting potatoes in the microwave. I'll be honest, I was surprised the techniques worked as well as they did but the one that stood out for me was the mashed version. They went against "common sense" and didn't poke holes in them before nuking them.
Truth is they don't explode. They actually cook better. Most potatoes are 80% water and when you microwave them all that water turns to steam. If you don't poke any holes in them, the steam has no way to escape and it stays inside the potato cooking it faster.
Now sweet potatoes aren't handled by the US Potato Board (and I'm sure there is a very logical reason why) so they didn't test their techniques on them. Since I had some leftover ones I thought I would give it a shot. All in all, the mashed method works just as well, making a great base for this quick and easy weeknight soup.
Go on, give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Sweet Potato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Save yourself a few tears and let the grocery store do some of the work for you. Many stores now sell chopped onions that are available in the produce section.
Serves 4
2 pounds sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped onions
3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
2 roasted red peppers (or 1 12-oz. jar, drained)
2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
Kosher salt and pepper
Garnish: Dairy-free sour cream
Place sweet potatoes on a microwave-safe plate, wrap with plastic wrap and poke a few holes in the plastic, NOT THE POTATOES. Microwave on high 6 minutes. Turn potatoes over and microwave another 6 minutes or until a knife pierces potatoes easily. Let cool 5 minutes.
Combine onions and 1/2 cup broth in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook until onions are tender. Pour mixture into a food processor or large blender and puree until smooth. Add red peppers and process until smooth. Pour mixture in saucepan.
When potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of skins and place in food processor. Process, adding enough broth, until smooth. Add to saucepan with red pepper mixture. Bring to simmer, adding broth until desired consistency is achieved. Add lime juice and soy sauce and simmer 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Variation:
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Prepare soup as directed, adding 1 to 3 teaspoons curry powder when pureeing sweet potatoes.
OMG, I just picked up a bunch of red peppers this weekend and was trying to figure out what I'm going to do with them.
Posted by: Samantha | 10/24/2011 at 12:36 PM
Looks pretty damn good!
Posted by: Alexa | 10/24/2011 at 01:22 PM