Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup Adapted from Wellness Mama

This Halloween I bought two massive pumpkin thinking that we would carve them as we have in years past. Well, Halloween came and went and we never carved them, I HATE to waste anything that we've purchased so I was determined to make something with these giant pumpkins.

Seth doesn't love the flavor of pumpkin so I was struggling to put something together that I wouldn't be eating alone. I came across this recipe for Loaded Sweet Potato Soup on Wellness Mama's site (btw, she has some great stuff going on over there). Of course a loaded sweet potato soup could potentially have bacon, cheese, scallions and sour cream...all things Seth willing eats so that's where the inspiration for this new fall favorite came from. I like my soup to have lots of texture, not runny like a broth or traditional cream soup. This recipe gives you the flexibility to decide what consistency you'd like.

This soup is very flexible, you can use as much pumpkin or sweet potato as you'd like, I've made this 3 times now and each time I play with the ratios of pumpkin to sweet potato. Most recently I used 4 cups of pumpkin and 1 Camote Yam. The texture was slightly changed but the flavor remained close to the same, so have fun with this one and get creative with your toppings.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups Pumpkin Puree (canned or homemade)
2-3 Large Sweet potatoes or Yams ( I use Camote or Garnet)
1.5 cup Cooked and diced Bacon, Canadian Bacon or Pancetta (nitrate free)
1 Large diced Yellow Onion
3 cloves minced  Garlic (about 2-3 heaping Tbsp)
1 Quart Chicken Broth
1/3 cup Full Fat Coconut Milk or Dairy Cream
1 Tbsp Coconut Butter or Dairy Butter
2 Tsp to 1 Tbsp Ground Ginger
1 Tbsp Dried Tarragon
Fresh Ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Optional Toppings:
Plain Greek Yogurt
Shredded Cheese (Seth likes Sharp Cheddar & Jack)
Sauteed Garlic Mushrooms
Scallions
Diced Apples and Honey
Fried Onions
More Bacon or meat of choice

Directions:

1. Peel, diced and boil sweet potatoes in a large stock pot. I prefer to leave the skin on because I like the texture and added nutrient value.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, brown diced onion, garlic, and meat of choice (if using bacon or pancetta wait until onions become nearly translucent to add meat). After browned removed from heat and set aside for later.

3. When the potatoes are soft enough to mash with a fork, turn off the burner and drain water. Return the stock pot to stove (no heat yet) add chicken broth and mash potatoes by hand or with a Braun Mixer.

4. Add pumpkin and coconut milk and turn stove on low. Mix together until coloring is even.

5. Add browned onions, garlic and meat. Season with Tarragon, Ginger, Salt and Pepper. Keep heat on low for 20-30 minutes and stir regularly until heated thoroughly.

6. Top, serve and enjoy!

Notes: This soup taste even better the next day. I've made it with Coconut products and Dairy, I prefer to use butter and cream. but also enjoyed the coconut version (using coconut products doesn't make it taste like coconut). Of all the meat options I liked the Canadian Bacon the best, it browns well with the onion and adds a great texture to the soup.