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Don’t Toss Those Sweet Potato Peels: Make Soup

For the most flavorful sweet potato soup, get some skins in the game.
By Published Feb. 23, 2022

When Lan Lam developed her sweet potato soup, she wanted the flavorful star of the show to be, not spices, cream, or stock, but sweet potato. To get the perfect concentrated taste, in addition to plenty of pureed potato, she added in some of the sweet potatoes' skins. 

Although adding too much of the skin produced a murky soup, a modest amount of pureed cooked skin gives the soup earthy depth. 

In addition, adding the sliced potatoes to boiling water and then steeping them off the flame for 20 minutes encourages starch in the tubers to convert into sugar, yielding a sweeter soup with a less stodgy consistency that doesn't require the addition of water to thin it out.

Here’s how the soup comes together:

1. Cook aromatics in butter, then add water and bring to a simmer.
2. Remove pot from heat, add sweet potatoes and their peels, and let steep for 20 minutes.
3. Season and simmer until potatoes are very soft, about 10 minutes.
4. Puree soup in blender.
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JC
JOHN C.
16 days

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!

Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.

MD
MILES D.
JOHN C.
9 days

Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!

CM
CHARLES M.
11 days

John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.