curried sweet potato soup & goat cheese biscuits

Warning: Do not attempt the following recipe(s) if you don't like goat cheese. Every part of them has goat cheese. And that is why they are delicious, especially the biscuits, which are hands down the best ones I've ever made (although I haven't ever tried the ones Kelly posted a little while ago).

Not really adapted in any substantial way from Joy the Baker/Mark Bittman/another guy.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

serves 6 to 8

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup coarsely chopped onions

1 large clove garlic, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped ginger (I used powdered; why do I keep forgetting to buy fresh ginger)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I didn't have any and threw a whole pod in, which I kept in until I was ready to start blending. Not sure if it did anything or not; it's hard to tease that out from the rest of the spices)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric (in a lovely feat of grace, I dropped the entire bottle in and probably quadrupled this. it was fine! extra tumeric-y)

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick

6 cups chicken broth, or slightly more as needed. (I used veg, and only about 4 cups)

salt and pepper to taste

6 to 8 teaspoons goat cheese

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until the onions begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute, stirring for 30 seconds. Add the ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric and red pepper flakes. Add the sweet potatoes and broth and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

Puree the soup, in batches in a blender or food processor. Season to taste. The soup can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. Reheat over a low flame. If the soup is too thick, add a little more stock. (I threw in about 3/4 c water at this stage.)

(I also blended in about 1T of goat cheese in this step, and a tiny bit of leftover heavy cream. mm.)

Ladle into bowls and crumble goat cheese on top.

Goat Cheese Drop Biscuits

makes about 9 biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes (Earth Balance, baby. am obsessed with the stuff.)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the pan (ditto)

2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted to top the biscuits (I actually did use real butter for this step)

4 tablespoons (2 ounces) goat cheese, crumbled

1 cup buttermilk

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With your fingers incorporate the butter and goat cheese until the flour resembles a coarse, pebbly mixture. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk. With a fork, mix together the buttermilk and flour until all of the dry flour disappears.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a small sauce pan or in the microwave. Set aside.

Remove the cast iron from the oven and place one tablespoon of butter in it. Work the pat of butter around, greasing the entire pan, including the sides.

Spoon the batter, by the 1/4-cup into the hot skillet. I used a big scooper to do the job. The biscuits will touch when baked… that’s ok.

Brush with melted butter.

Bake for 14-16 minutes, until slightly golden in color. Remove from the oven. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve warm.