Sweet potato and cheddar soup...

I'm in love with sweet potatoes! I've never had them in Poland, and I've heard that even now they're quite hard to get there. Thanks God it's not the case here in Ireland. You can buy them very easily and cheap too. They're perfect for a mash or a soup. We use them quite often in a soup actually, as they cook very quickly, they're becoming very soft but they're not disintegrating as a normal potato could. This soup was inspired by a similar recipe in The Soup Book, but I've changed quite a bit so it's really more my recipe now than it is the one from that cookbook. I hope you'll try it. I recommend quite a strong cheddar cheese here, so that you can actually taste it. Strong cheddar or a flavoured cheddar - as I did this time round.

How to make it...
Ingredients:
- 4 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 small onion, diced
- 50 g Knockanore garlic & herbs cheddar, grated
- 50 g Knockanore black pepper & chives cheddar, grated
- 50 ml cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 bay leaf
- 800 ml vegetable stock
- salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add all the sweet potato, onion and fry gently, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until softened but not browned. Add the stock and bay leaf and season. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf, puree the soup in a blender or food processor then return to the rinsed-out pan. Reducing the heat and add the cream and the cheeses, stir gently and let all the cheese to melt, but do not allow the soup to boil. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve hot, alone or with some croutons.

Smacznego!

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• Spiced cabbage soup
• Polish sour rye soup