soup IS a meal

in my book, soup is definitely a meal. i think i could eat soup everyday from now until march, and then switch to gazpacho. mmm. lately my favorite has been to take a heap of sweet potato and through magic of the culinary type turn it into a satisfying bowl of thick, silky soup. all you need is a hunk of crusty bread and a small bowl of salad and there you have it. a meal.

this recipe was adapted from i think october's cookie magazine.

chunky sweet potato soup

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1 medium onion, diced
1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and sliced crosswise
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried sage (less if it is ground or to taste)
2 large sweet potatoes (about 1½ pounds), peeled and cubed
6* cups chicken or vegetable broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan***

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, and garlic and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften and begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes**. Stir in the sage and cook 1 minute more. Add the sweet potatoes to the pot and stir. Pour in the broth and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, until the potatoes are fork-tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. Transfer half of the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot and stir to combine. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle with more olive oil. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve.

* the original recipe called for 4 cups but i used a 6 cup can, which was nice because it tends to thicken after a day or two. but believe me it is still way yummy.
** i usually use this time to peel and cube the sweet potatoes, making the whole process much easier.
*** i like to keep a block of decent to good parmesan cheese in my fridge, and find it easier and prettier to shave slices with a vegetable peeler. so professional...
**** (getting ridiculous i know, but also satisfying to see that many astrics lined up) the first time i made this soup i only had one sweet potato on hand but happened to have a small butternut squash on my counter. threw that in along with the s.p. and it was just fine.

there you have it folks. so easy that when i made this monday night, i also made a pot of broccoli cheese soup for eliot and a batch of chili. the sweet potato goodness was all mine as the rest of my family is crazy and doesnt eat them, except arlo of course. if you are big fan of sweet potato/pumpkin/butternut squash (or anything else orange for that matter) like i am, then you should also take a look at mollys puree. to die for. i just said that.