Tag Archives: sweet potato

Butternut Squash, Coconut Milk and Wasabi Soup

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Filed under appetizers, Large round mold, octogonal silpat, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, soup, stainless steel cookware, veloute, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

What did you guys eat this evening? left-over turkey, and left-over food from Thanksgiving? I was not that lucky to have left-overs as I did not host Thanksgiving, and all I brought was eaten.

Then on the other hand, I am glad that I did not have any as I was wanting something more light for my fare. Soup was going to be it for me. The rest of my crowd, was on their own ( do not feel sorry for them-they had plenty of wonderful cold cuts and French cheese to make great sandwiched with…)

I had a small butternut squash in my fridge, and a few other things and since butternut squash soup is definitly one of my favorite soups, there was no hesitation as what my dinner was going to be. So while everyone was busy fixing their sandwiches, I came up with this recipe:

Ingredients for 4-6 people:

  • 1 small butternut squash peeled, and cut in cubes
  • 1 large sweet potato peeled and cut in cubes also
  • 1 red onion thinly chopped
  • 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 can of light coconut milk
  • 1-2 tbsp of wasabi paste

Place the cubed butternut squash, and sweet potato in the large round mold. Cover the round mold with the octogonal silpat and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile in a medium-sized pot, warm up 2 tbsp of olive oil. When the olive oil is warm, add the chopped red onion and saute it. Stir and cook the onion on medium-high for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is a golden brown and is soft. Add the steamed vegetables and saute them as well. Warm up the broth and pour it over the vegetables. Bring this mixture to boil and when it has come to boil, lower the temperature to medium. Cook the soup for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. With an immersion blender, puree the soup. Add the coconut milk and the wasabi and stir well. I added 2 tbsp of wasabi paste, but you may want to use less.

This soup was such a treat. I loved it, i hope that you will like it as well.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

2. I

Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Turnips and Sage Soup

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Filed under appetizers, deep flexipan, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, silpat, soup, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

A few weeks ago as I was chewing some gum, I broke another tooth ( yeah.. I know that’s the second in two months) and because the break was too extensive, this time I had to have a tooth implant. How fun!!! and how expensive also;-( not my idea of spending my money but this is how life goes. C’est la vie…This must the year everyone has warned me about.. the year you turn 40. THE BIG 40:-(

Everyone says this is the year that everything falls apart and that you are starting to feel your age. I hope not, but I am starting to think that this may be true. And now that my own daughter is calling me grandma, I must be getting old:-(

Well yesterday was the doomed day for the surgery. It was not as bad as expected as I am back at work today. But because I am a bit sour with a missing tooth, I thought having soup for the next few days would probably a smart plan. I had a few sweet potatoes and turnips left so decided that it would be good to just puree and make a soup out of a recipe I posted previously ( Roasted Fall Vegetables).

Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes peeled and sliced thinly, 2 turnips peeled and sliced thinly, 1 small purple onion sliced thinly, 1 tsp of fresh sage chopped,1 tsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of turbinado brown sugar or brown sugar, 1/8 of salt and 1/16 of pepper.

Place all the following vegetables in a large bowl, add the olive oil, and stir to coat. Place on a large silpat or deep the flexipan from the Demarleathome cookware. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and brown sugar all over the vegetables. Chop the sage and sprinkle it also. Cook in warm oven at 450 for 15 minutes.

When the vegetables have cooked, transfer them into a dutch oven and add 6 cups of light Chicken broth. Cook for 15 minutes. Bring it to boil and let it simmer. With an emulsifier, puree the soup and cook for another 15 minutes. The soup is still a bit “grainy” so I decided to sieve it to make it much smoother.

To serve, spoon the soup in individual bowls. You may add a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream and add a sage leaf for decoration. Et Voila!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Cumin Soup

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Filed under soup, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen


Brrr.. Winter has definitely settled. The cold is here and I will tell you that even though I am enjoying putting on my warm sweaters, I am still finding hard adjusting to those temperatures. I am warm natured so if I get cold, it takes me hours to warm up. So today as I was trying to keep warm, I was dreaming of warm home-made soups. What I really wanted was a leek and potato soup, but since my grocery store were not selling any leeks, I settled for carrots.

Ingredients: 1 lb of carrots, 1 big sweet potato, 2 bundles of green onions cleaned up and chopped thinly, salt, pepper, cumin and 4-5 cups of broth.

In a large pot, melt the butter and when the butter is sizzling, add the chopped onions. Sweat the onions until they become soft and golden. Add the chopped carrots and sweet potatoes and saute them. Add 1 tbsp of cumin and stir to coat the vegetables. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth to the pot and bring the mixture to boil. Lower the temperature and cook for 15 minutes. With a mixer, puree the soup and add more broth if you think it needs to be more liquid. Season with salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes.

To serve, spoon the soup in individual bowls and add a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle more cumin over the soup and serve. Et voila!!!

NB: If you want to make your soup creamier, add 1 cup of heavy cream.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

A Light Version of the Sweet Potato Casserole

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Filed under Large round mold, octogonal silpat, vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen


My students always tease me about French people eating escargots and frog legs and often assume that French people eat a lot of nasty things. But after I show them the wonderful food and desserts that are made in France, they quickly change their mind and beg to come with me to France. Of course I don’t tell them that in France, as many other countries in the world, most the animals’ parts are used for food.  Growing up in France, I was encouraged to eat a lot of them. My mom introduced me to everything even though she did not always like them herself saying: “You have to try everything, you will not know if you like it until you try”or “Eat, it is good for you, it is full of iron ( talking about liver). Well because of her, I have always tried everything that was placed in front of me, and only made my judgement after tasting. She proved to be right. There is only one thing I do not care for till this day: Sweet Potatoe Pie.

I will tell you that there were many things that did not appeal to me much until I tried. I am glad today that I had the courage to try them beside my first repulsion, because some of them are now my favorites! Casseroles and more particularly sweet potato casseroles  (Potato, brown sugar and marshmallow mixed together?!?!YUK) would have been missed if I had not listened to my mom;-)

Today I will present one of my favorite dish for the holidays: Sweet Potato Casserole.

Though I love the traditional recipe with heavy cream, and brown sugar, I will give you a recipe that is much lighter and that is still very tasty. You will need:

Ingredients for 6 people: 3 large sweet potatoes, 1 cup of light chicken broth, 6 shallots, brown sugar, cinammon, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Peel the potatoes and cut them in large cubes. Place the cut potatoes in a large round mold, cover with the octogonal silpat and microwave for 10 minutes. Once cooked, empty the potatoes in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Add 1 cup of hot broth and whip the potatoes. Add 2 tbsp of brown sugar, a dash of nutmeg, of cinnamon, pepper and mix well. Add salt if you deem necessary. Empty the puree sweet potatoes in a dish and set aside.

Peel the shallots and cut them thinly. In a small frying pan, warm up 1 tbsp of butter and sizzle the shallots. Cook them at medium-high temperature until the shallots are dark brown and are becoming crisp. Add 1 tsp of brown sugar and cook for another minute. Sprinkle the shallots on top of the puree and place the dish in the oven. Cook at 350 for 15 minutes. Et voila!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Roasted Fall Vegetables

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Filed under vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Can you believe this weather. A week ago it was in the 90’s and now it is in the 60’s. Though I love fall, and love seeing the landscape changing colors, I am a bit sad that we are heading towards winter. Not so much because winter bring with it a desolated scenery, but because it gets so dark in the evening that there is no time to do anything. No time to run outside if you don’t get started at 4. No time to hang out after dinner and enjoy the sunset… oh well…

At least, fall brings with it, a new array of food and fresh vegetables to enjoy. As you see, it did not take me long to taste those new fall vegetables this week-end. This evening i propose something easy and fast that can accompany any meat and fish: Roasted fall vegetables.

Ingredients: 1 sweet potato peeled and sliced thinly, 1 turnip peeled and sliced thinly, 1 small butternut squash peeled, and sliced thinly as well, 1 small purple onion sliced thinly, 1 tsp of fresh sage chopped (or dry if not), 1 tsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 1/8 of salt and 1/16 of pepper.

Place all the following vegetables in a large bowl, add the olive oil, sage, sugar,  salt and pepper. Mix well so that the vegetables will be coated with all the ingredients noted above. Place on a large silpat or deep flexipan and cook in warm oven at 450 for 10 minutes. Enjoy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!