Sweet potatoes are packed with flavour and nutritional goodness. They’re one of the healthiest ingredients in your kitchen. They also purée easily, smoothly thickening this brightly flavoured soup.

Yield: Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients

1/4 cup any vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
2 large sweet potatoes, washed, peeled and grated
1 chipotle pepper, packed in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
a sprinkle or two sea salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 whole wheat or soft corn tortilla
4 – 6 sprigs fresh cilantro, for garnish

Procedure

Preheat your oven to 375 °F (190 °C).

Place a large stockpot over medium-high heat and add the oil and onions. Sauté the onions until they’re golden brown. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a few minutes more. Garlic burns much faster than onions, so adding it later keeps that from happening.

Pour in the broth and stir in the grated sweet potatoes. Bring to a simmer and then add the chipotle pepper, cinnamon, cumin and salt. Continue simmering until the sweet potatoes soften.

Carefully purée using a blender, food processor or immersion blender. Taste and add a bit more salt if you like. You may also thin the soup by adding a cup or so more of water or broth.

As the soup simmers get the garnishes ready. Stir the cilantro into the sour cream. Roll the tortilla into a thick cigar shape, slice thinly and place on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 15 minutes.

Ladle the soup into festive soup bowls, top with a dollop of cilantro sour cream, sprinkle on some crisp tortilla chips and top each with a sprig of cilantro for garnish.

Variation

You may use any chili pepper you like to add spicy flair to this soup. Chipotles are not too spicy and they add lots of smoky flavour. They’re actually smoked jalapeños and can be bought dried or packed in adobo sauce, a traditional Mexican tomato sauce. Poblanos or ancho peppers are also excellent choices.