Can you tell how much I like a recipe by the title? If you have been reading this blog for any period of time I am sure the answer is-YES!! Definitely no hidden agenda or innuendos with me, right? I pretty much just tell it like it is or at least how it is in my little world. Haha




So last night I made Food Network's Mexican Chorizo & Sweet Potato Soup and this is honestly one of the best recipes I have made in awhile. I loved the spice of the chorizo and how it was complimented by the sweet of the sweet potato. I also loved the contrast in textures with the homemade chips, the avocado and the sweet potato. The cilantro added a nice additional layer of flavor and well the spinach just added the vegetable group, which always helps, especially when you just got done eating 3/4 lb of chorizo.

I have often truly wondered what the difference was between a yam and a sweet potato and when I was at the store buying the ingredients for this soup, this question came up again...so I decided to actually google it. Sweet potatoes are orange and they have smooth skin. They have a rich and sweet flavor. Yams are actually white in color and have rough/shaggy skin. They are more starchy and tend to have a more bland and potato like flavor. However, in the US it is very common for grocery stores to mislabel them or use the name yam and sweet potato interchangeably so it is on us, the consume, to know our stuff.

This recipe has you start by making your tortilla strips. Just cut 6 corn tortillas into strips, toss them with vegetable oil and throw them in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Once they are out of the oven you can season them with salt. The hardest part of this process for me was not eating all of the tortilla strips while I cooked the rest of the soup.

Next saute the chorizo in 1T vegetable oil. Add the cumin and cook for about 4 min. The sweet potato is cut into 1/2 " pieces and let me just say I have some pretty sharp knives, but sweet potatoes are some tough suckers. Not as hard to cut as spaghetti squash but still hard just the same. Add the sweet potato, chicken broth, can of diced tomatoes and water and bring to a boil. Then simmer the soup mixture for 10-15 minutes or until your sweet potatoes are tender...and yes I tested them...because seriously no one wants hard sweet potatoes in their soup. Add the spinach, lime juice and salt. Once the soup is in the bowls sprinkle it with cilantro, avocado and your tortilla strips.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Kosher salt
• 3/4 pound fresh chorizo or other spicy sausage, casings removed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups baby spinach
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted and chopped

Directions