Make Ahead

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon and Eggs

by:
September 17, 2012
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 8
Author Notes

I opened the latest Saveur magazine which was featuring 101 classic dishes. The very first recipe was salmorejo, a chilled, blended tomato soup topped with chopped, hard-boiled egg and serrano or ibérico ham. I knew immediately I would be making a version with sweet potatoes to go with that night’s brined, grilled chicken. I did not even read the ingredients, but went straight downstairs and began peeling sweet potatoes. As I prepped I recalled two amazing sweet potato soups of my past: one was blended with smokey chipotle and one was roasted with kabocha, onions and garlic. I ended up combining it all for a truly wonderful soup. —savorthis

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Ingredients
  • 2 pounds sweet potatoes
  • 1 large onion
  • 3 small shallots
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 6 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 1 tablespoon thyme
  • sage leaves
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • cream
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 450°.
  2. Peel sweet potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Peel onions and shallots and cut onion into 8 pieces and shallots in half. Leave skins on garlic. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Roast about 40 minutes or until tender and beginning to brown.
  3. Meanwhile, place eggs in small pot and cover with water to an inch over eggs. Heat to boiling, cover, turn off heat and let sit 18 minutes. Place in ice water for 2 minutes, then peel. Gently pull eggs apart to separate white and yolk. Press each through a sieve to make very tiny pieces.
  4. Cook bacon over medium heat until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cook sage leaves in bacon fat for about 20 seconds and drain on paper towels.
  5. Thin sour cream with cream or milk until drizzle-able.
  6. Remove garlic skins and blend until very smooth in batches with sweet potatoes, onions, broth, thyme and chipotle and adobo. Return to pot. Heat, then ladle into bowls garnishing with bacon, eggs, sage and a drizzle of cream.

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6 Reviews

lakelurelady November 18, 2013
I agree with Le Bec Fin. Brilliant, so darn brilliant. I want to do that.
LeBec F. September 17, 2013
now, come on, ST. That's not FAIR. Not only is the recipe itself beautifully conceived (wonderful choice of ingreds, and roasting everything-YES!)but then you have to go and create a photo that every food photographer would die for. It's like Catherine Zeta Jones. It's not enough that she's stunning and can act; she can sing and dance too! NO FAIR!

No, really. Chapeaux! to you, ST.
savorthis September 17, 2013
You're too kind!
sel E. March 9, 2013
what an elegant looking soup!
luvcookbooks September 17, 2012
How did you make the pretty swirl on top of the soup? It looks like an espresso made by an expert barista except with soup!
savorthis September 17, 2012
Thanks! I just put the cream in a plastic bag (because my 3 year old made off with my squirt bottles), snipped the end and drew a leaf shape. I then put a spoonful of the cilantro cream inside and used a toothpick to drag the soup into the cream. You can play with a small sample before you make a whole bowl to see how the cream flows/drags etc. You can also make little hearts by just doing dots of cream that you drag through once. It's amazing how it can transform a humble little bowl of soup.