Soup season is upon us, and this recipe provides a tasty way to combine standbys such as yams and onions with cranberries. We picked up a slight variation of the soup you see on your screen at the farmers’ market shortly before Thanksgiving, while loading up on fresh cranberries. As the young farmers told us, this recipe originates from the good folks at the BC Cranberries Marketing Commission, who have more than a dozen recipes on their site.

You’ll want to have a blender or food processor at hand for pureeing this soup, which serves six.

Ingredients

• butter – 2 tablespoons / 30 mL
• onion – one cup  250 mL
• garlic – one large clove
• celery stick – one
• yam – one large (up to 1.5 pound / .68 kg)
• low-salt chicken broth – 4 cups / 950 mL
• cranberries, fresh or frozen – 1 cup / 250 mL
• cinnamon – 1 tablespoon / 15 mL
• nutmeg – 1 tablespoon / 15 mL
• your choice of heavy cream or “half and half”, which we used – one cup / 240 mL (though I’m inclined to try substituting Greek yogurt for the cream next time we make this)
• pepper and salt, to taste (we used no salt)

Optional garnishes

• sour cream
• dried cranberries; we used “Craisins”
• parsley – 2 tablespoons / 30 mL, or to taste

Preparation

1. Chop the onion, garlic, celery and seat each aside separate from one another.
2. Peel and chop the yam into one inch pieces / small cubes.
3. Melt the butter in a large pot, over medium heat.
4. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the butter; saute five minutes.
5. Add the chopped celery, and saute another five minutes.
6. Add the yam, cranberries, chicken broth, cinnamon and nutmeg and gradually bring to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat to low/medium and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until the yams are tender.

Puree batches of soup in the blender

1. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Return soup to to cooking pot.
3. Add the cream, and stir your soup over a low/medium heat.
4. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
5. Serve up this tasty soup and, if desired, garnish with parsley or with sour cream and dried cranberries