Soup Sunday: Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with Mole Spiced Nuts & Lime Crema

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with Mole Spiced Nuts & Lime Crema

I have a love for sweet potatoes. I would live off of them for the rest of my life. A couple years back when I was in the hospital, all I wanted were sweet potatoes. Finally, when I was allowed to eat food, I made sweet potato soup for every single meal and enjoyed it for about 2 months. That's just not normal. So, this soup would go down as one of my favorites. This is obviously a little bit different from the last time I made it because it has chipotle peppers to make it extra spicy. Then, the soup is topped off with a nut crumble that is extra special because it has the sweet flavors from a traditional Mexican Mole sauce. For some acidity, it is drizzled with a Lime Crema and garnished with fresh chopped cilantro. This soup is spicy, sweet, and creamy and just warms you down to the core. So go on and make this for yourself and a cold, lazy Sunday!! Enjoy :)

For Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup:

4 Sweet Potatoes, Peeled & Cubed

3 Stalks of Celery, Diced

1 Large Vidalia Onion, Diced

4 Garlic Cloves, Minced

4C Chicken or Vegetable Stock

2C Heavy Cream

2-4 Chipotles in Adobo, Roughly Chopped

1t Cumin & Cinnamon

½t Ground Cloves & Ginger

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

For Mole Spiced Nuts:

¼C Dark Brown Sugar

¼C Sugar 

2C Whole Nuts, Toasted (I used a mixture of Pecans, Walnuts, & Almonds)

1t Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

½t Cinnamon

½t Chipotle Powder & Paprika

Pinch of Cayenne

1 Egg White, Room Temperature

Salt & Pepper, To Taste (I did a good bit of salt for a sweet & salty combination)

For the Lime Crema:

8oz Mexican Crema or Sour Cream

2 Limes, Zested

1 Lime, Juiced

Salt & Pepper, To Taste

Directions:

1. For the Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup: In one large soup pot, sauté the onions, and celery in 2T melted butter for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one more minute. Add the sweet potatoes, broth, chipotles, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 30 minutes until potatoes are tender. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm or simmer until you are ready to serve.

2. For the Mole Spiced Nuts: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Mix together the sugars, salt & pepper, cocoa powder, cinnamon, chipotle powder, and cayenne, making sure there are no lumps. Set it aside. Beat the egg white until frothy and add in the toasted nuts, and toss until evenly coated. Sprinkle the nuts with the sugar-spice mixture and toss until evenly coated again. Spread the sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with a Silpat. Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When completely cool, roughly chop the nuts and set aside until you are ready to garnish the soup.

3. For the Lime Crema: Mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl until incorporated and smooth. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

4. Serve the soup with a drizzle of Lime Crema and roughly chopped Mole Spiced nuts.