‘CAN I HAVE YOUR RECIPE?’ friends ask each other, back and forth after delicious meals served with love and hopefully a side order of tasty conversation. But so often it’s not “my” recipe, or “yours” that’s on the table, but one that we have found in a cookbook that became identified with us by those we served it to—friends and family who ask us to make “our” dish again. The actual provenance, though, remains the same: “My” sweet potato-greens soup with sage and garlic is actually Anna Thomas’s Green Soup With Sweet Potatoes and Sage, from her James Beard Award-winning cookbook, “Love Soup.”

You’ll notice that I said sweet potato-greens soup in the headline, though Anna Thomas’s original has it the other way round, with the greens first. I suspect her soup is greener in color than mine comes out, too. That why I say mine is an adaptation (that, and the fact that once I read a recipe and follow it the first time, I rarely look again, and just keep on adapting).

my version of sweet potato-greens soup with sage

Note: This soup freezes very well, but as with all soups, I refrigerate it for a day first to let the flavors meld.

ingredients

  • 1¼-2 pounds sweet potatoes (Anna recommends 1¼; I use about 2 to shift the flavor and color balance)
  • 1½  tsp. sea salt
  • 2 to 3 Tbsp. sage leaves chopped
  • 1 bunch kale
  • 1 bunch chard
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 3 cups of water
  • 2 large yellow onions
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • black pepper
  • really good olive oil for garnish

steps

Peel and cube the sweets, and put them with the chopped sage and the salt in a big pot, adding 3 cups or so of water over them, and simmering, covered, till soft.

Meantime saute the diced onions till soft and golden brown, in the olive oil.

Chop the washed greens coarsely while all that’s happening.

Add the greens and the whole garlic cloves and the broth to the sweet potato mixture, and let that all soften by simmering awhile longer, covered.

Add the cooked onions. (I deglaze the onion pan with a bit of the broth to get all the good flavor from the oil and onion bits, wasting nothing.)

Let the mixture cool enough to blend thoroughly. Using an immersion blender right in the pot, I puree the soup, and adjust the liquid if needed.

And then, as Anna Thomas says, drizzle with a fruity olive oil before serving. “This last step is essential,” she reminds us. Agreed. Drizzle away, and enjoy.

(I saw a variation Anna Thomas did on the “Eating Well” website, with spinach instead of chard and the choice of Japanese yams or sweet potatoes. You can find that one here if you happen to be long in spinach at the moment.)

more

how to win a copy of ‘love soup’

I’M CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS, and especially cookbooks (and field guides, and novels, and garden books, and … oh dear). Anna Thomas’s “Love Soup” is as good as it gets–about one of my favorite dishes, soup, and vegetarian and good-for-you fresh to boot. The million-selling author of “The Vegetarian Epicure” wrote another winner. Just answer this question in the comments below to enter [note: the giveway is complete, but your comments are always welcome]:

What’s the most popular soup in your house, and where did the original recipe come from?

Feeling shy (or no soup in the house)? Just say, “Count me in,” and I will.

Two winners will be were chosen at random after entries close at midnight Sunday, October 21, 2014. Good luck to all.

(Disclaimer: Any small commissions I earn from purchases made from Amazon links in this post go to purchasing the books I buy to give away.)

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