With the temperatures outside in the 30’s all day, my thoughts turn to soup. Here is a recipe from the late Austin Leslie using one of Louisiana’s prominent ingredients, the sweet potato. This soup is easily made vegetarian by subbing vegetable oil for the bacon drippings, vegetable stock for the chicken stock and omitting the bacon
3 large Sweet Potatoes
3 teaspoons unsalted Butter
1 tablespoon granulated Sugar
1/3 Onion, chopped
2 Bacon slices
3 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Light Cream
½ teaspoon Kosher or Sea Salt
½ teaspoon White Pepper, freshly grated
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
Parsley, chopped, for garnish
Nutmeg, grated, for garnish
½ cup Sherry, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them in the oven on a foil-lined sheet pan for about 1 hour or until they are soft and a fork completely pierces one easily. Set them aside to cool.
When the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Place the cubes in a 2-quart bowl and mash them with butter and sugar.
Fry the bacon slices in a deep skillet and set them aside on a paper towel to drain. Sauté the onion in the rendered fat drippings. Add 2 cups chicken stock, 1 cup cream and the salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Enjoy!!!
Coming soon to Ibooks- You Can’t Keep New Orleans Out Of The Cook.
