I had bought some sweet potatoes at the farmer’s market the other weekend, with the full intent of making sweet potato fries (which I love), but somehow today was another “cold weather food day” so here I am, making another soup. Added some shrimp just because I had them in the freezer. And there are leftovers.
PS: don’t tell me that it looks like baby food. Should have added more cream at the end because it got a little thick after I added the shrimp/prawns. Adjust the cream level as needed!
Ingredients
3 large cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoon olive oil, divvied
3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and large dice, divided
2 shallots, diced
1 cup fresh carrots, diced
1 cup fresh celery, diced
1 quart chicken broth, divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces shrimp (frozen and thawed is fine)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon thyme, finely chopped
Directions
In a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat, add the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Once butter is melted, add shallot and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add 2 of the minced garlic cloves and sauté for until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sweet potatoes, carrots, celery; Sauté an additional 5 minutes.
Add 3 cups of broth, reserving the rest. Cover pot and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender (about 20-25 minutes). With a slotted spoon, remove about 2 cups of the sweet potatoes and carrots (leave the celery, if you can) and then let simmer for an additional 10 minutes until the veggies are fall-apart tender. Remove from the heat, the cream and puree in batches in your blender. Return to the Dutch oven. Thin with remaining broth if needed.
In a sauté pan over high heat, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add remaining garlic clove, followed by the shrimp in one layer. Quickly sauté the shrimp, adding salt and pepper to taste — they will become pinkish in about 30- seconds per side. Once cooked, I remove the tail shells before adding to the chowder, but this is optional; you can put them into the soup with the tails on too. Fold in the reserved (non-pureed) veggies and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with croutons or fresh bread.
