Back to Basics-Potato Soup

Today we welcome a guest post by my LONGTIME--since Kindergarten!--friend, The Coconut Farmer. Recently she's been trying to add to her recipe repertoire, and has been cooking her way through "Balancing Flavors East and West", by Tom Kime. And, this recipe, for me, definitely falls into the "Basics" category... what is more basic that Potato soup?! But, the wonderful thing about it is that it has all the qualifications for taking boring old potato soup to the next level, so that's why we're featuring it here... Also, I don't know about you, but I LOVE the idea of sweet potatoes, but never can figure how to use them once I get them home from the grocery store! Take it away, Mrs. Coconut Farmer!
This is my “scholarly review” of a recipe from Balancing Flavors East and West by Tom Kime.

Preheat oven to… (me: skip that part…)

Mix the sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the oil, and the salt and pepper and spread it out on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes or until golden brown and soft.

(me: “uh, dear? Can you chop up some potatoes for me?” he is so nice… ok. He then says, “did you preheat the oven?” Busted. Ok, turned on the oven.)

Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 1 minute.

(me: “dear? can you go outside and get some rosemary for me?! *insert big smile* so I put the bacon in, but forgot to chop it up first…whops… the rosemary arrived so I chopped it up. Then I pulled the bacon out of the pot and chopped it up. Then I threw everything back in the pot, which hissed and sputtered at me. who knew cooking could be so adventurous? Btw, I skip the garlic for the sake of other humans who have to smell me the next day.) (Naomig inserts: Mrs. Coconut Farmer!!! You can't skip the garlic!! It's the best part! Ok, I'm done.)

Add the onion, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, until it is soft. Stir while cooking to avoid sticking.

(me: aha! I remembered to chop up the onion first. Go me. )

Add the broth, cover with a lid, and turn up the heat to a boil.

(me: I am so good – I measured the broth ahead of time. Sweet.)

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and add to the stock. Remove the lid and simmer for another 5 minutes.

(me: that was easy…)

With a slotted spoon, remove two thirds of the onion and sweet potato mixture w/o too much liquid and add to a food processor. Carefully blend to a smooth puree. Return to the pot, leaving the remaining mixture unblended to keep some contrasting texture.

(me: I don’t have a food processor, so I put it in the blender. Um, conclusion: potatoes are too thick for the blender. Just so you know. Then was like, duh, mashed potatoes…and smashed them in a bowl…returned mixture to pot…then licked the bowl clean after…yum.) (Naomig inserts... you might be able to get away with a combination of potato masher, and immersion blender if you were going for a over the top creamy texture.)

Squeeze the lemon juice into the soup and check the seasoning, being careful not to over-salt as the bacon flavor is quite strong.

(me: lemon juice, that’s easy…check the seasoning…holy cow! That is hot! …drink glass of ice water……ok I didn’t burn my tongue that bad…but make sure soup cools off before checking taste. Ha! And I love adding carrots to things whenever possible, so I get my vitamin A in…) (Naomig adds: I love the carrots idea! I think this also might be awesome with some finely chopped Kale too.)

And there you go. Husband ate 2/3 of it last night, he liked it so much. :)

Thank you Mrs. Coconut Farmer!!! I cannot wait to try this!