Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: Good soup for you

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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Good soup for you

A creamy soup with no cream, this wonder is based on the endlessly adaptable, extremely variable, frequently colorful sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes make up the bulk of this soup, which is good news for those of us who love them. But for those who don't care for sweet potatoes, there's a good chance you won't taste them, thanks to a few clever additions.

Onion, garlic, jalapeños and cayenne keep this soup firmly in the savory category. Corn and molasses temper the heat from the chiles and spice. Scallions and freshly cracked black pepper on top of each bowl add tingles of freshness.

Today's recipe

Photos by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post

Sweet Potato, Corn and Jalapeño Bisque

This makes a big batch of soup. It freezes well, but to reduce the quantity, refer to the recipe in our Recipe Finder, which you can scale down.

Really, really not into sweet potatoes? >> Use red potatoes, winter squash or rutabagas instead.
Out of frozen corn? >> Canned would work in a pinch, as would a can of diced tomatoes. You also could skip it.
I love the heat from the jalapeños >> but if you don't, omit them.
Molasses contributes to the luxurious color of this soup. >> Use honey or brown sugar if you don't have any.

For easy printing and scaling, view this recipe in our Recipe Finder.

Servings: 10 to 12
Active time: 30 mins
Total time: 40 mins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, minced
6 medium (5 pounds) sweet potatoes, preferably Jewel or Beauregard, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 to 2 medium jalapeño peppers (or to taste), stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup molasses
Salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Pinch ground cinnamon
3 scallions, green parts only, finely chopped, for garnish

Steps

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and stock, increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, with bubbles just breaking the surface, about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Remove from the heat.

2. Puree the mixture with an immersion blender or transfer it in batches to a food processor or blender, process until smooth and return it to the pot.

3. Increase the heat to medium and add the corn, jalapeño peppers and molasses, stirring to combine. Add salt to taste, the cayenne, black pepper and cinnamon. When bubbles just begin to break the surface, remove from the heat. Serve, garnished with the chopped scallions.

Adapted from Bruce Faw. Tested by Marcia Kramer.

Nutrition information per serving (based on 12): Calories: 241; Total Fat: 3 g; Saturated Fat: 0 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 806 mg; Carbohydrates: 52 g; Dietary Fiber: 7 g; Sugars: 0 g; Protein: 5 g.