And some like it hotter. After a winter in Maine some of you might think I'm talking about the climate, but this is about "hot in the pot". As winter approached, we heard many of the year-round residents talk about how they hibernate and eat soup during winter. We thought they were exaggerating, but apparently not. In light of the fact there were many days when we looked outside and didn't see a person, car, or light in a window they were totally serious. At one point, Dan commented he wouldn't be surprised to see tumbleweed rolling down Main Street. This post is dedicated to all the year-round soup-eaters in Castine.
My first cookbook was
The Nancy Drew Cookbook. The Case of the Smothered Pork Chops could have been the beginning and end of my culinary adventures if my father hadn't been so kind and complimentary. In hindsight, I'm thankful his stomach didn't rupture as I failed to understand rice increases with size and if you add more because what the recipe calls for doesn't look like a lot, you have to add more liquid. Needless to say, the rice was more than a little crunchy. Live and learn.
As I entered my teens and started dabbling with vegetarianism, I purchased
Moosewood Cookbook. Fast forward thirty-five years to the opposite coast as I was perusing the cookbooks at a bookstore in Pasadena. There on the shelf was
Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health. How could I resist but have a glance inside. I guess we've all grown up because there wasn't a kugel recipe insight and I wasn't wearing Birkenstocks.
So what's with the hot factor? The recipe calls for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I had never tried or cooked with chipotles until we were living in L.A. For anyone who loves cuisine with a kick, you understand there's hot and then there's hot with flavor. Hot just for the sake of being hot isn't the name of the game. Chipotles, on the other hand, have a divine smokiness, a sublime flavor, and fabulous heat. They are the crowning glory in this recipe. So who in our family likes it "hot" and who likes it "hotter"? Let's just say I'm all about the burn.
Sweet Potato, Apple, and Chipotle Soup
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup thinly sliced celery
5 large peeled sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
2 cups peeled apples, chopped
1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
water
Warm the oil in a large soup pot on high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring continually, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the celery, sweet potatoes, apples, chipotle peppers, vegetable broth, salt, black pepper, and enough water to cover the veggies. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently until the sweet potatoes and apples are soft, about 20 minutes.
Puree the soup in a blender in batches until smooth and creamy. You may need to add a little water if the soup is too thick or if it refuses to puree easily in the blender. Blend in more chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and/or black pepper to suit your taste. I've taken to drizzling the adobo on top of the soup after it's in the bowl as I don't want to burn Dan's taste buds off.
Note: the above is a slight variation of the original recipe. I've also discovered (in the depths of winter when the pantry is a little empty) you can substitute water for the vegetable broth.
