Roasted Sweet Potato Soup and Mushroom Bruschetta

I'm not really a fancy cook or anything and most nights during the week I can barely scrape together a mac n' cheese meal for the two of us. But occasionally, I'll have some extra time to try out a new recipe or two. Both of these recipes were so delicious that we had the exact same meal two nights in a row. 

So scrumptitilidumptious that I thought I would share. 

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

Source: The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

Makes: 8 servings

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic , minced
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp white or black pepper
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
8 fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish

{Note: I added a dollop of sour cream to each bowl before serving.}

Directions:

1. Peel and cube sweet potatoes; toss with half each of the oil and salt. Roast on baking sheet in 450°F (230°C) oven, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in saucepan, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat; sauté onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, pepper and remaining salt until softened, about 8 minutes.

3. Add stock, potatoes and 4 cups (1 L) water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.

4. In batches in blender, purée soup until smooth; strain into clean pot. Garnish each serving with a sprig of rosemary.

Mushroom Bruschetta
Source: Jamie At Home by Jamie Oliver
Makes: 2 servings

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
11 ounces mixed wild mushrooms, wiped clean (I used button and cremini)
2 cloves of garlic, 1 peeled and finely chopped, the other halved
A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
A few sprigs of fresh parsley, leaves picked
A sprig of summer savory, leaves plucked (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dried red chili, crumbled (I omitted this)
A small knob of butter
1 lemon
2 slices sourdough bread (I used french stick)

{Note: I spread cream cheese over the warm, toasted bread before spooning the mushroom mixture over top}

Directions:

1. Put a large heavy frying pan, big enough to hold all the mushrooms in one layer, over heat and add a couple of glugs of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on the size of your mushrooms, leave any small ones whole but tear, break or slice the larger ones up. Add them all to the pan and give it a shake to toss the mushrooms in the oil.

2. Add the chopped garlic and fresh herbs and shake the pan again. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and the crumbled chili and leave to fry gently for a few minutes. If the mixture becomes dry, pour in a little more oil.

3. Once the mushrooms have got some color going on, after about 3-4 minutes, add the butter and a squeeze of lemon juice to give a nice twang -- don't go overboard here, you don't need much -- and toss again.

4. To finish this off and make it into a lovely, creamy sauce, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of water into the pan. Simmer for a little longer, until you have a lovely simple sauce that just loosely coats the mushrooms. Now toast your bread.

5. When toasted, rub the bread with the cut side of the remaining clove of garlic. Place each slice on a serving plate, pile the mushrooms and the creamy juices from the pan on top and tuck in.

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Yum, yum, yum, yum, annnnnnd yum.