8: (Almost vegan) sweet potato bisque

Sweet potatoes are rich, wondrous creations. There are a handful of foods I could have everyday, and sweet potatoes make the list. Usually we buy sweet potatoes for the sake of making our own "fries", but I had a different idea this time: sweet potato bisque!

First, you bake two lbs of taters, skin on, and halved. Lay them flesh down on a foil lined tray in a 375 degree oven until soft and cooked through (roughly 30-40 minutes). The sweet potatoes from Trader Joe's we buy are small, so they cook much faster than usual. In the same oven, throw some baby or regular carrots (roughly two handfuls)*. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, and throw into the same oven for the same amount of time as the potatoes. When all of the taters and carrots are done baking, take them out of the oven and allow to cool until easy to handle. Yo uphold be able to squeeze the potato flesh from the skins fairly easily. At the least, scoop out with a spoon if need be.

*Sorry for the not-so-specific measurements. We essentially made this recipe up as we went along and got lucky that it not only turned out scrumptious, but  ran into zero bumps along the way.

Once the potatoes and carrots are sufficiently cooled, place a large pot on medium and heat 1 TBS of olive oil in the pot. Throw in about 1/2 diced onion and two cloves of chopped garlic. Heat until aromatic, but not burnt. Then pour 1 quart of vegetable broth into the pot and allow the mixture to come to a boil. At that point, throw in the taters and carrots to cook for a few minutes. Granted, they're already cooked, but it will allow them to marry with the broth, onions, and garlic. Then you take your handy dandy immersion blender and blend the mixture away until smooth and pureed! If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender and puree the soup in small batches. I'd recommend having another pot on hand to put the finished product in. If you feel the need, add a splash of 1/2 and 1/2 at the end for a touch of creaminess or to thin the soup, but it's not necessary. We did only because we had a teeny, tiny bit left in our fridge we wanted to use up. Season with salt, pepper (we used white pepper), and a tsp of ginger.

The bisque ended up having a nice, subtle sweetness from both the carrots and potatoes. It was also thicker like a bisque, but happily still really light. I don't like feeling weighed down after soup, so this was a really pleasant turnout! I'm already planning on making a bigger batch to have on hand. What a great winter soup! Garnish with broken tortilla chips and enjoy!