Sweet Potato-Rutabaga Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese Crouton
December 4, 2009 | Comments Off
This fall has been a particularly balmy one, with Thanksgiving in the 60′s bizarrely. This means I save soup-making for escapes to the country, where there is a definite chill in the air. This is a hearty soup that makes a fine dinner, served with an arugula salad and a nice glass of Macon-
Village Chardonnay. I added the rutabaga because I got them from my CSA and thought that they would work well with the sweet potatoes. If you want to make this vegetarian, you could replace bacon with tempeh bacon, but I think the smoky flavors compliment the sweetness of the soup
quite well.
Sweet Potato-Rutabaga Soup with Bacon and Blue Cheese Crouton
Serves 6
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and large diced
1/2 pound rutabaga, peeled and large diced
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup shallot, fine diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups vegetable broth
sprigs of thyme, sage, and rosemary
Salt and white pepper to taste
3 strips of bacon
baguette slices
4 oz blue cheese
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
1. Heat olive oil in a soup pot and saute shallots and garlic over medium heat until soft, about 6 minutes.
2. Add broth, potatoes, rutabaga, and herbs and simmer until the potatoes and rutabaga are soft.
3. Turn off heat and let cool a bit. Puree in batches in a blender or food processor. Return soup to cleaned pot to reheat.
4. Fry bacon until crispy and transfer to paper towel to blot excess oil.
5. Put baguette slices on a baking sheet and top with blue cheese. Broil on low until cheese melts.
6. Put soup in soup bowls; top with bacon and blue cheese baguette slices. Drizzle a little hazelnut oil on soup.
I've recently moved my life from Brooklyn, New York to Sonoma County, California to pursue a life in food and wine. I am now the executive chef at