Chipotle sweet potato soup with spiced pecans
Tonight I made one of my favorite soups, a thick sweet potato soup made fiery and smoky with chipotles. I make this soup often in the cold-weather months, but for some reason I’ve never shared it with you. Well that’s about to change.
I’ll be going home next week and with my clothes a bit snug and my complexion splotchy, I decided to do a quick, two-day detox before the holidays. Over the weekend I drank furry apple juice spiked with cayenne, sipped dandelion tea mixed with lots of lemon and ginger, and downed the occasional glass of almond milk for a bit of protein.
I didn’t have much energy, so I just lay on the couch reading my friend’s book. The weather was mild with high temperatures and gentle breezes, so in the afternoons I’d go for walks by the river. I made up this regime, so I don’t know if I was following proper detox form, but after a couple of days I was less puffy and possessed a sense of peace and restfulness I hadn’t had for quite a while.
But enough about my detox—you want to know about the chipotle sweet potato soup! It’s recommended when you conclude a detox that you shouldn’t overburden your system. So brisket and a big bowl of queso—no matter how much I was craving them—were out of the question.
In my refrigerator, however, were some sweet potatoes. And I knew that this quick soup would be a fine, fine way to re-enter the land of the eating. There’s not much to it, you just throw together your aromatics, the chopped sweet potatoes, some chipotle peppers and spices, pour in some chicken broth and let it cook. After about half an hour, let it cool a bit and then puree it. Ladle it into bowls and serve.
I like to top it with sour cream and some chipotle-cinnamon roasted pecans, for a bit of cream and crunch. You could also top it with a dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh cilantro. But honestly, this soup is equally fine on its own.
After Thanksgiving, if you have leftover sweet potatoes, this is a wonderful way to use them. Or this soup would also make for a stunning starter. Though you don’t really need a special occasion to eat it. I find that I love it best on those cool, quiet evenings when I’m seeking something simple and satisfying. And this chipotle sweet potato soup always does the trick.
Chipotle sweet potato soup with spiced pecans
Ingredients
Ingredients for the soup:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, about 2 large, peeled and cubed
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 to 4 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Sour cream for serving
Ingredients for the pecans:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
- Salt
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil on medium low in a large soup pot, and cook the onions and celery for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.
- Add the sweet potatoes, broth, chipotles, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool for 10 minutes.
- As the soup cools you can make the pecans. Melt the butter in a skillet on low heat. Add the pecans and stir them until they are covered in the butter. Add the cinnamon and chipotle powder and stir to coat. Cook the pecans, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes. Add salt to taste.
- In batches, puree the cooled soup in the blender. If you prefer, you can use an immersion blender in the pot instead. Once the soup has been pureed, stir in the lime juice and add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and some of the chopped cinnamon-chipotle pecans.
The smoky heat of the chipotles would go well with the sweet potatoes!
I have several containers of butternut squash puree in the freezer. I think I will try this with the squash. Thanks.
Do you mean to use ground cinnamon and ginger in the soup?
Lisa, ever since I saw the photo I haven't been able to get this soup out of my mind. I posted it on my Facebook page and had my friends drooling.
Last night I made it, and it was delicious! I didn't have any chipotle in adobo, but being a good Texan I had some dried chipotles and once reconstituted were delicious. I also am dairy free and try to stay away from soy so I used MimicCreme instead of sour cream…delicious! I ran out of chipotle powder a while back and so I used Pasilla on my pecans, and they were WONDERFUL.
I was a little surprised by the sweetness of the soup, but perhaps my carrots were too big. I still loved it, it was just not what I was expecting. I will definitely make this again! I am also going to post photos on my blog this evening, not as pretty as yours though 😉 Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Heidi–Excellent news! I'm so happy you enjoyed it. And soup party? What a wonderful idea!
Kevin–Yes the do! It's one of my favorite combinations.
TBSamsel–That sounds like a fine idea!
Asriel–Yes, the cinnamon and ginger are ground. Thanks for pointing that out to me–I'll revise the recipe!
Marissa–It is a bit sweet, but perhaps if you cut back (or even eliminate) the carrots it would be less so. And I love that you used pasilla on your pecans–I need to grind some of mine up and try that combination! Happy Thanksgiving!