Carla Hall's Tomato Sweet Potato Bisque

Warm Up With This Sweet, Satisfying Soup From 'The Chew' Co-Star

Star of "The Chew" combines her soup with her fancy grilled cheese.

From the kitchen of Carla Hall

Servings:6

Cook Time: 60-120 min

Last Thanksgiving my nephew had dental surgery just before the feast. I felt so bad that he couldn't chew, I told him I'd make him tomato soup. "Um, no!" was his teenage response. I know he's a picky eater, but I made it anyway. He tore this soup up! There wasn't a drop left in his bowl and he kept coming back for more. Just goes to show you should feed picky eaters what they think they don't like. You never know. I didn't like tomatoes when I was growing up because I thought they were too acidic. That's why I pair them with sweet potatoes here; their starchy earthiness tempers the tomato's acid. The result is creamy, naturally sweet, and deeply satisfying.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

1 celery rib, coarsely chopped

1 jumbo sweet onion, coarsely chopped

Kosher salt

1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme

4 fresh basil leaves

One 14.5-ouncecan diced fire-roasted tomatoes

1 Quart Vegetable Stock (page 55) or store-bought unsalted vegetable broth, plus more if desired

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped

¼ cup heavy cream

Freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Directions

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until just hot. Add the carrot, celery, onion, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions just turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the jalapeno, garlic, thyme, and basil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are nice and brown, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, then stir in the stock and sweet potato. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Simmer until the sweet potato is very, very tender, about 1 hour. The sweet potatoes should be soft enough to mash easily with the back of a spoon

Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Using an immersion blender or stand blender (working in batches if necessary), puree until silky smooth. Reheat the soup over low heat. Stir in the cream. For a thinner soup, stir in more stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Catering Like Carla:

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve for a more refined soup.