Creamy Dreamy Sweet Potato Soup

I love sweet potatoes. They are so easy to cook, and are so versatile. I often roast them in the oven with oil, salt and chilli powder to make a quick side. They taste great caramelized with jaggery and a bit of ghee.. but that is another recipe! This time I added them to a soup. It reminded me quite a bit of butternut squash soup ( another favorite with me ), maybe because of the colour and the addition of cinnamon. In any case, the potatoes cooked up extremely quickly and when pureed, the soup was silky soft and creamy I fell in love with the texture immediately.

Ingredients
2 Large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3-4 large carrots, diced
1 medium onion, minced
2-3 stalks celery, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 T butter/olive oil
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t cinnamon
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t cayenne
3 C vegetable stock
1 C milk, at room temperature (optional)
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the chopped onions, celery, garlic and carrots with a pinch of salt and allow to cook until the onions have turned translucent, and the celery and carrots are tender. Add thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper and stir well. Now add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potato cubes, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg and cover, allowing the contents to simmer on low-medium heat. Stir occasionally. After about 15 minutes or when the potatoes are tender, turn off the heat and allow to cool. I use an immersion blender, so I puree liquids when they are hot, but if using a regular blender, allow to cool. Add a cup of room temperature milk/dash of cream and adjust the consistency by adding more stock/water.

 Bring it back on to low heat, not allowing to boil but only heating through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.