Sweet Potato, Chipotle, and Apple Soup

One thing you guys probably don't know about me is that I'm an obsessive reader of cooking magazines. I presently get Food & Wine, Saveur, and Vegetarian Times, and I'm still reeling from the recent death of Gourmet. I first stumbled across this recipe for sweet potato, apple, & chipotle soup in Food & Wine a couple years ago and served it at a Cal-Mex themed party my old housemates and I hosted. (Other menu items included fish tacos, plantain and goat cheese gorditas, mojitos, and chocolate-cinnamon bread pudding. Yum. That party might deserve a repeat.)

I've tweaked it a little bit here and there, but this recipe is based generally on the one in the magazine. This makes an enormous pot of soup (feeds 12 easily), so if you're not taking this to a party, halve it, or freeze the leftovers.

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (microplane graters make this really easy -- a great tool!)
3 apples, peeled and sliced (ideally two mild (Gala) and one a little more tart (Granny Smith))
3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 quarts vegetable stock
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the following: cinnamon, Mexican oregano, and cumin
2-3 cups water
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped (I get mine at Arbor Farms on Stadium)

Sour cream (optional)

Corn tortillas
Canola oil
Cinnamon
Sugar

To make the soup, heat a little olive oil in a large soup pot and toss in the onions. Let them soften a bit (about 2-3 minutes), and then add the garlic and ginger. Add a little extra oil if necessary; try not to burn the garlic. :-) Toss in the sliced apples and let them sweat a little (about 3-4 minutes). Then add in the sweet potatoes and let those cook for a bit. You'll probably want to shuffle things around in the pot so that the sweet potatoes aren't all on one level. You'll probably also want to cover the pot for a bit so that the steam helps the potatoes soften a little.

Once everything is looking bright and smelling fragrant (about 3-4 minutes), pour in the stock and add the spices. Bring the liquid to a boil, and then reduce it to simmer. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are really soft. You might need to replace some of the water; I usually add in a couple cups of water during the process.

Now it's time for the chilis. I recommend adding two chilis that you've scrapped of seeds and chopped. I also like to add one-two tablespoons of the adobo sauce -- it lends this really nice smokiness and depth. But do whatever you think will taste best, and feel free to play around with the spices, too.

After things have simmered and combined for a few more minutes, turn off the heat and let the soup cool a little. Meanwhile, slice some tortillas into fry-able strips. (I usually cut each tortilla in half and then each half into eight more strips.) Heat a good amount canola oil in a big frying pan and when it's really hot and even a little smoky, toss in the tortilla strips and fry them until crispy. (Note: ideally you spread these guys in a nice even layer so that they all crisp evenly and nicely. I tend to rush, dump everything in a pile, and end up disatisfied.) When they're crisped and curling, take them out and set them on some papertowels to soak up the grease (as you would bacon). Let them cool a little, and then toss them with cinnamon and sugar. How many you make depends on how much you like little fried things in your soup. I make a lot.

Returning to the soup...you need to puree this huge mess of vegetables, and how you do that is up to you. I usually use an immersion blender, but I've also worked (in batches) with blenders and food processors. I prefer the immersion blender because it cuts down on the number of dishes I need to wash.

Serve the soup with a sprinkling of fried cinnamon-sugar tortilla crisps and a dollop of good sour cream (I'm partial to the Polish stuff available at Copernicus on South Main) if desired.