Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I still read The Homesick Texan, the gateway blog for me. Before Lisa’s blog I had never even had an interested in reading blogs or being a blogger, but she opened my eyes to fantastic homemade refritos and the blogosphere. Most of her recipes are just eye candy as they have ingredients I don’t generally eat, and of course her blog is also heavy on the animal flesh (I try to ignore), but there are the rare recipes that I can actually doctor up so I can consume them with glee. Last week she posted a recipe for Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup. As soon as I saw the photo I knew I had to make it, and fast. Luckily it is basically vegetarian already, but I did make a substitution of MimicCreme (I just love that name tee hee!) for the sour cream (I prefer the ingredients in MimicCreme to the vegan sour cream, and I could make a sour cream out of soaked cashews, but I didn’t have any on hand).

I warn those of you who are not chileheads like me. Chipotles, being smoked jalapeños, are spicy. I didn’t have any chipotle in adobo, I just had some dried chipotles I brought back from Texas 2 years ago. I had 5 left so I reconstituted them, chopped them, and put them into the pot. This made for a bit of a fiery soup which I loved, but I think some would find to be too spicy. I suggest using 2 and then adding more if you want a little more heat. Also, the recipe calls for chipotle powder for the pecans. I didn’t have any chipotle powder, but I did have some pasilla chile powder and they were divine. Pasilla is much less spicy than chipotles, so I recommend it for those of you who don’t need even more heat. This Christmas I will be stocking my pantry with more peppers from Texas. I need to start making a list.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Medium Onion, diced
• 2 Carrots, diced
  
• 2 Celery Stalks, diced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 2 Lbs. Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 Quart Vegetable Broth
• 2-4 Dried Chipotles (or in adobo),chopped
  
• 1 tsp. Ginger
  
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Ground Cloves
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
  
• Juice of One Lime
• Sea Salt, to taste
• Black Pepper, to taste
  
• MimicCreme or Vegan Sour Cream

Method:

1. In a heavy pot, sautée the diced onions, carrot, and celery in a little extra virgin olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the minced garlic and sautée for a minute more.
2. Add the sweet potatoes, the spices, and the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
3. Puree the soup in a blender until smooth.
4. Season with the lime juice, salt, and pepper.
5. Drizzle with MimicCreme or top with vegan sour cream.
6. Sprinkle spiced pecans to garnish.

Spiced Pecans

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 C. Pecan pieces
• Sprinkle of Cinnamon
• Sprinkle of Pasilla Powder (or Chipotle Powder for more spice)
• Sprinkle of Sea Salt, to taste

Method:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat up the virgin coconut oil and toss in the pecans. Stir constantly to prevent burning.
2. Sprinkle with the cinnamon, pepper powder, and salt. Sautée until the pecans smell toasted, but do not burn!