Creamy sweet potato soup with chipotle and orange

sweetpotatoHere’s a soup to kick off the cooler months, one that would make a nice addition to your Thanksgiving menu. The soup has a little heat from the chipotle pepper, but you can adjust the spice level with the addition or reduction of the number of peppers used. The garnishes are my favorite part of this recipe with the deep flavors of the toasted pine nuts and the orange candied in its own juice.

For soup:

  • 2 heads garlic
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 3 c. chicken stock
  • 3 tsp salt
  • 2 sweet potatoes, cooked and skins removed
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 c. cream

For garnish:

  • 1 orange
  • 1/2 c. pine nuts, toasted
  • creme fraiche (for garnish)
  • fresh sage, finely chopped

Instructions:

  1. Heat the oven to 400°. Slice the tops off of the two heads of garlic and then wrap each in foil. Roast for 25-30 minutes until soft.
  2. While the garlic is roasting, Add the butter to a heavy pot and heat onions and celery over medium heat until they begin to soften.
  3. Add the chicken stock, salt, sweet potatoes, chipotle, cider vinegar, pepper and paprika. Squeeze the roasted garlic from the skins into the soup. Use an immersion blender (or transfer to traditional blender) to puree the ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes. Incorporate cream and heat for another 5 minutes.
  4. While the soup is cooking, prepare the faux-candied orange peel for garnishing soup. Slice the peel into thin strips, making sure to reserve the orange for juicing. In a small pot, cover peel with water and bring to a boil. Dump the water, strain the peel and repeat one more time. While the peel is blanching, juice the orange and remove any seeds. Add the juice to the pot with the peel and simmer over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes or until peels are soft. Watch to be sure juice doesn’t burn. If it begins to color, add water as needed. Drain peels to have ready for garnish.
  5. To serve soup, top with a dollop of creme fraiche, toasted pine nuts, sage and prepared orange peel.

 

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