Sometimes when I can’t think of anything to write, I don’t write anything at all. I could expound upon my writers block, but instead, I thought I’d just start writing. I have grand plans of things to share with all of you for the holidays; food gifts I’m planning to give, appetizer party fare, and general bustling in the kitchen. I don’t blog as much as I would like, mostly because I am simultaneously right-brained and perfectionistic. I’m like a kid with a handful of confetti. I throw all the pieces up into the air, fancy free, and then, through the process of creating the recipe, experimenting with photography, and fussing over what to write, I slowly tie up the pieces into blog entries.
The perfectionism creeps in at different places during the process, and I use the term “perfectionism” loosely, as this mostly means I wait until it feels right before moving onto the next step–it could be looking for the “perfect” recipe idea, or the photograph that helps an ingredient shine, or the perfect subject to write about. I don’t want all the potential of holiday food blogging to pass me by just because I’m overwhelmed with wrapping my ideas in neat little packages.
This sweet potato soup, as is typical for me, was born out of a scribbled idea in my food-writing journal, and came together on the spot, for a last minute dinner with the mister and the mother in law. I envisioned a silky smooth soup, honey-laced, smoky and sweet, with slow-building chipotle spice. I debated over how to incorporate the chipotle into the soup, finally deciding to toss the sweet potatoes, onions and garlic in the adobo sauce and chopped chilies and roast it all up in the oven, as is my default in the winter. I whirred it up with some homemade vegetable broth, and served with a drizzling of olive oil and a scattering of toasted pepitas. We could taste each component of the soup, from the sweetness of the honey-infused sweet potato puree, to the smokiness from the chipotle chiles. The roasted onion and garlic lent depth in flavor, and rounded out the sweetness of the potatoes.
I hereby resolve to lasso a little more of my confetti this holiday season. How about you? Do you need more lassoing, or could you use a bit more confetti in your life?
- 3½ pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 large onion, peeled, trimmed, and cut into 1 inch wedges
- 8 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons honey, divided
- 1 can (7 ounces) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (to taste, according to level of heat desired.)
- kosher salt
- 6 to 8 cups vegetable broth
- ¾ cups pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
- Extra virgin olive oil, to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Finely chop the chipotle chiles, reserving the adobo sauce. In a large bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, onion, garlic, cloves, the adobo sauce, chopped chiles, olive oil, 3 tablespoons honey, and 1½ teaspoons kosher salt. Toss well to coat. Spread in a single layer on two foil-lined baking sheets. Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes, trading the position of the pans halfway through, until the potatoes are soft and are dark golden in spots.
- Put the roasted vegetables into a large saucepan. Add 6 cups of the vegetable broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree the soup using an immersion blender, or in batches in a normal blender. Be careful if blending hot soup in the blender--do so in small batches and hold the top on with a kitchen towel to avoid an eruption. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth as needed to thin out the soup. Season to taste with kosher salt, black pepper, and an additional tablespoon of honey if desired.
- Garnish with a swirl of olive oil, a scattering of toasted pepitas, and a grinding of black pepper.
That looks really delicious! I’m planning on making butternut squash soup tomorrow. I think I may adapt my recipe a bit to follow yours!
Jenny, how I love sweet potatoes and they are so healthy. I have a baked sweet potato every week and this will just be another recipe I can enjoy on a cold day like today. Thank you and keep up the excellent blogs you are sharing.
Grandma in sunny but chilly Carlsbad
Oh my, I’ve got to make this right away. Looks seriously delicious. All of my favorite things in one: sweet/spicy/yams!
Shelby
Yum! We’re having a sick day today and this will help greatly with the sniffly noses. Thanks for the recipe and the great photos! 🙂
I was fortunate enough to taste this amazing soup, right off the stove! It’s got taste that lingers and warms on a cold day. Gives you a homey, ‘been loved alot” feeling…
Thanks for cooking it for me, Jenny! And for letting me watch your artistry as you set up these fine shots.
Delicious soup — though a word to those interested in making this: My husband and I are both very used to eating spicy foods (we are from the southwest, he used to live in China and I in India), but we felt that one whole can of chipolte chile was VERY hot and definitely not moderate… we liked it, but if you are feeding any even moderate pallets, I would reduce the amount to 1/2 a can. I didn’t have any pumpkin seeds so I made it with cumin and honey glazed walnuts and a sprinkling of feta cheese. Yum, yum!
Thanks for your feedback Anna! I was wondering about the spiciness level…My can of Chipotles this time around seemed a little milder than ones I’ve had in the past. I’ll go ahead and tweak that in the recipe so I don’t set anyone else’s mouth on fire!
Wowza, a whole can of chipotle peppers?? And I thought I liked it hot! I love the sweet/savory combo of this soup – putting it on my list of recipes to make in the near future – thank you! 😀
oh. my. lanta. This looks so delicious! I love the pumpkin seed garnish–such a nice touch 🙂
I made a similar soup around Christmas, but I made it all in the pot. I love the idea of roasting everything first. I’ll be making this soon. Even in these warmer months, I love soup. And I’m curious as to how this soup might taste when cooled. We’ll see. Thanks for the improved idea.