Sweet potato, roast garlic and rosemary soup

The cooler weather finds me yearning for comfort food and fewer dishes are more comforting and warming than a big bowl of soup. This is my favourite soup because it looks great, tastes delicious and, given that all the cooking is done on a baking tray in the oven with minimal preparation, it practically makes itself. Accompany with some crusty sourdough, a savoury roll or slice for a hearty winter meal.

Sweet potato, roast garlic and rosemary soup

Serves 4-6

2-3 large/medium sweet potatoes (approx 1.5kg)

5-8 garlic cloves

1 large, good quality vegetable stock cube (I use Swiss Nature Organic Vegetable Stock Cubes)

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Using a knife, cut an 'x' into the ends of the sweet potatoes. Place them on a baking paper lined tray and bake in their skins for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, wrap the garlic cloves (leaving skins on) in some foil. When the 40 minutes is up, add the garlic to the baking tray with the sweet potatoes and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

Fill the kettle and boil some water. Remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and garlic cloves - they should slip off easily. In a large saucepan, place the soft, cooked flesh of the sweet potatoes, garlic cloves, rosemary, crumbled stock cube and enough boiling water to cover (1.5-2 litres). Mix gently with a wooden spoon until stock cube is dissolved. Using a stick blender, blend the contents of the saucepan until smooth, adding more boiled water if required, until desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper and serve.