AnchorMommy

Yam and Ginger Soup, a.k.a. The Triple Y

October 6, 2009 by Shannon

This recipe is one of the highlights of our recent trip to the Oregon Coast. The best way I can describe it is sheer comfort in a bowl. I whipped up this soup in the kitchen of our rented vacation home, after a long day visiting the Oregon Coast Aquarium and Rogue Brewery in Newport. By the time we got home, we were still pretty full from a delicious lunchtime meal at Rogue and wanted to go light on the dinner plans. Plus, Kellan was just not kicking a nasty cold he developed at the beginning of our vacation, so I was determined to make something loaded with vitamins and plenty of garlic to help him out.

I’m officially titling this recipe Yam and Ginger Soup, but I prefer to unofficially call it Yummy Yachats Yam Soup. Or, for short, The Triple Y. The “yummy” and “yam” parts of the unofficial title are there for obvious reasons. But in case you’re wondering, that weird Y word in the middle is the name of the town we were staying in during our vacation. I understand it is pronounced “ya-HOTS,” and it’s really a lovely place, in case you’re planning an Oregon Coast vacation in the near future.

Okay, on with the recipe…

Yam and Ginger Soup (a.k.a. The Triple Y) 

• 3-4 medium sized yams
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 small red onion, minced
• 3 tablespoons light cream cheese
• 1 cup milk
• approx. 1 cup water or vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
• salt and pepper to taste
• shredded Monterey Jack cheese, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pierce yams with a fork. Place them in the oven and cook for approximately one hour, until the sugary juices of the yams start to come out of the fork holes. (Or, if you’re in a hurry, wrap each yam in a damp paper towel and cook in the microwave about 10 minutes until done.)
2. Peel and mince the garlic, ginger and onion. Heat two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a deep soup pot. Saute the garlic, ginger and onion for about 3-4 minutes.
3. When yams are done and slightly cooled, break them into chunks and put into a blender. Add the sauteed garlic, ginger and onion. Add the cream cheese, milk, water or broth and blend into a puree. Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil into the blender as you puree the mixture. 
4. Add the yam mixture to the soup pot and add more water or vegetable broth if needed to give it a soup-like consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook over low-medium heat until warmed through. Ladle soup into bowls and top with shredded Monterey Jack.

So I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating — this soup is sheer comfort in a bowl. It contains gobs and gobs of garlic, which is said to have healing properties, but the tummy soothing properties of ginger make you forget all about the massive amounts of garlic you’re consuming. When I scraped up the last spoonfuls out of my bowl, I sat back and my stomach just felt….HAPPY. 

The Triple Y is going to be a cold/flu season staple in my house from here on out, and I’m already planning to make a big batch of it for Halloween night for two reasons. One: its beautiful orange color. Two: the fact that a certain someone in our household will undoubtedly be in need of a tummy-soothing soup after loading up on bagfuls of Halloween candy. And I’m not talking about the little guy.