Wordless Wednesday: Maine Lobster - From Boiled to Bisque

Meatless Monday: Vegan Sweet Potato Chipotle Bisque with Cilantro Oil

While it's true the clocks and the calendar have "sprung ahead," there remains a wintry chill in the air. We figure we have a couple more chances to create soup recipes before soup season is "over." This warm and satisfying bisque is a treat with no dairy and very little fat. It makes a striking statement of flavor when accompanied with fresh, springy cilantro oil. We recently served this at a party in stylish shot glasses to the amusement of our friends who loved the "soup shots!" concept.

For the Bisque:

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and rough chopped

2 large yellow onions, rough chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 quarts water or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

Salt and white pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, place sweet potatoes, onions and garlic. Cover with water or stock, and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and allow potatoes to cook until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add cinnamon, cumin and chipotle pepper. Puree with an immersion blender, a regular blender or food processor. (Note: If you use a regular blender or food processor, beware not to fill the blender to the top with hot soup, as that heat could cause the lid to blow off and splatter hot soup all over you and the kitchen. Therefore, it is best to work in batches, 1/2 a blender at a time and hold the lid down). Season the soup to taste, with salt and white pepper. If the soup is too thick, add more hot water to achieve desired consistency. It should coat the back of a spoon. Serve in a bowl topped with a drizzle of cilantro oil (recipe below).

For the Cilantro Oil:

Ingredients:

1 bunch cilantro, stems and leaves, rinsed and free of dirt

1 clove of garlic

1 cup light olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. As the oil sits, it may separate, with the cilantro going to the bottom. If this happens, just shake it up. Place in squeeze bottle or just drizzle with a spoon on top of the soup.

Guest Post: Chef Lise Jaeger's Butternut Peanut Bisque

In addition to some of our recent changes, we plan to have guest bloggers periodically, to, you know, mix it up a bit!

Our first guest blogger is Chef Lise Jaeger, great friend, awesome chef, excellent teacher, and owner of Chef For Hire, LLC. Thanks, Lise, for sharing your recipe for this soup, which, by the way, totally rocks.

Lise writes:

I called Amy and Chris on the off chance they would be free on a Saturday night (let me tell you folks, they are hard to pin down sometimes!!). Luck would have it that they indeed wanted to brave the winter chill and the threat of snow to come to my house for some soup and a bonfire. Hurray!!

I have made this soup several times in many variations with different spices and different nut butters. So you can play with this to suit you own buds. This warm and creamy soup with a bit of Asian accents was a hit with my guests.

Now we just have to get Amy some real snow boots.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons light olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 carrrots, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 large butternut squash, seeds removed, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon Chinese Five-Spice powder

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to your taste)

1 can coconut milk

4 cups vegetable stock

¼ cup agave syrup (you can use honey if you like)

½ cup peanut butter (you can use chunky if you want)

In large soup pot, on medium high heat, heat the oil and saute the onions, carrots, garlic and ginger until the onions are translucent. Add squash and saute for 5 minutes. Add cinnamon, five spice powder, salt and cayenne, and stir until vegetable are coated. Add coconut milk and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer till the squash is very soft. With a hand blender or food processor, puree soup until smooth. If it is too thick, add water to arrive at desired consistency. Add agave syrup and peanut butter, and blend until fully incorporated. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Sprinkle with green onions, or chives for a garnish. Serves eight. Enjoy!!!

Note: This soup also freezes very well!