It’s somewhat of a rainy day here in Los Angeles. Perfect soup weather, actually. I’ve never really been much of a soup maker. My personal preference is to chew my food (albeit, as little chews as possible… I tend to be quite a FAST eater). The soup related items that I do make are usually pretty hearty, like a stew or chili. However, I have recently acquired a husband who ADORES soup. One of his favorite meals is a chicken tortilla soup served at a little mexican place in Encinitas, CA. So, because I love this man and need to frequently expand my culinary repertoire, I decided to make soup tonight.

It’s a smooth and filling pureed soup made from yams. You can use sweet potatoes or jewel yams, it will taste great either way!

Another awesome (non-soupy) addition to this  soup is the crumbled bacon garnish… oh yes. I just said typed bacon. Bippity Boppity BACON! (see Jim Gaffigan’s bacon bit for reference)

Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon Garnish

2 medium sweet potatoes (white or red), baked until soft
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 1/2 c. chicken broth
3 small cloves of garlic
1-2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
red pepper flakes
sea salt to taste
3 strips of bacon
1 thinly sliced green onion

1. Cook the bacon till crispy. I like to do it in the oven at 350. It’s less messy.
2. In a small skillet over low heat, add a little grease from the cooked bacon (about a tbsp.) and the sliced onion. Let the onion caramelize slowly. About 10-15 min.
3. Get your blender ready! This is a pureed soup, so you can use a blender, food processor or immersion blender and get the same result. I used a food processor.
4. Process sweet potato until pulverized, add chicken broth, caramelized onion, and garlic.

   

5. Add ginger, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste. The ginger will make it spicy so go light on the red pepper if you don’t want too much heat.

   

6. Serve with the crumbled bacon and green onion on top. It a winner for sure.