Sweet Potato-Vanilla-Ginger Soup with Potato Croutons

For the soup:
Put the olive oil or butter in a large pot over medium heat. Let the butter melt. Add ginger and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften. This will take about 5 minutes.

Add a sprinkle of salt and pepper, vanilla, and diced sweet potatoes and stir. Add enough of the stock to cover sweet potatoes and bring to a boil.

Stir, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 15-25 minutes.

Take soup off heat, puree with an immersion blender or take out veggies with a slotted spoon and puree them in a blender. Return everything to the pot (if you used the blender), taste and adjust the salt and add any other spices that tickle your fancy. If it’s too thick, you may want to add a bit more broth here too.

For the croutons:
Preheat oven to 450 F.

Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch cubes. To do this, slice potato lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices. Stack a few slices on top of each other and cut lengthwise again into 1/4-inch strips. Arrange 4-5 strips side-to-side in one layer and cut into 1/4-inch cubes. Repeat with remaining potatoes.

Place potatoes in a medium sized bowl and toss with olive oil and sea salt until well coated. Lay the cubes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes until crisp and slightly browned.

Remove pan from oven. Let potatoes cool and serve on top of soup (be careful, these tend to disappear before you even have time to put them over your soup!)