Sweet Potato and Brown Ale Soup with Crispy Sage and Pomegranates #soup #recipe #beer #sweetpotato #pomegranate #fall
Do you ever get wrong number phone calls?
I’m a bit of a magnet for them, even though I’ve had my current cell phone number since I was a teenager.
I get the same woman calling me about once a month, and she never remembers that she has the wrong number. Although I don’t know for sure what she looks like, in my head she is an older African-American woman, in a floral bathrobe sitting at a vintage oak dinning table sipping Taster Choice out of an old mug.
This was our most recent conversation:
My phone rings, I know it’s her.
Me: “Hi!”
Her: “Oh…Um…do I have the right number?”
Me: “Honey, you’ve called me every month for the past two years and this still isn’t the right number.”
Her, laughing: “Girl! Haha! Do I really? Aren’t you a sweetheart! Why you keep takin’ my calls?!”
Me: “Because if I don’t answer you just keep calling! Plus, I’ve gotten used to this.”
Her: “You are so sweet! You’re my girl. I won’t call you again, I promise! So nice to talk to you again.”
Me: ” Ok, hon. Talk to you next month.”
And I hope I do.
I have her number saved in my phone as Mrs. Tasters Choice and when her number pops up, I get a big smile on my face. She’s told me stories about a friend of hers in the hospital, about how she used to sell pies at Penn Station, about her husband that passed away a few years ago from a heart attack right in the middle of a Sizzler. She’s seen hard times, that’s obvious, but she’s the kind of woman who chooses to be happy, to brighten people’s day. At least that’s what she always does for me.
Ingredients
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
- ¼ cup chopped shallots
- 3 tbs flour
- 2 tbs brown sugar (if using orange sweet potatoes, reduce to 1 tbs)
- 12 oz brown ale
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 3 lbs (6 cups) white sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 tbs olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh sage leaves
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
Directions
- Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the shallots, cooking until softened. Sprinkle with flour, stir until well combined, thickened and flour has browned.
- Add the brown sugar, brown ale, and chicken broth, stir to combine.
- Add the sweet potatoes, cook until potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat.
- Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
- Stir in the salt, pepper, cayenne and heavy cream.
- Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium high heat until hot but not smoking.
- Add the sage leaves, fry on both sides until crispy, about 10 seconds per side. Remove from oil, allow to drain on paper towels.
- Spoon soup into the bowl, top with sage leaves and pomegranate seeds.
Wrong number phone calls neeeeeever happen to me anymore. I don’t answer when I don’t know who’s calling!! Soup…even if I don’t know the flavour, I’m down. No introduction needed!
I am always down for a little ale soup and I love sweet potatoes and pomegranates. Clearly this is the soup for me!
Damn this looks good! I love the fall flavors happening with the smooth brown ale.
oh my gawd, I love this story and that you saved her phone number into your phone . . that’s so sweet that you guys have had actual conversations. I love hearing things like this. . brings some humanity and real connectedness into this digital age of ours. Oh, and this soup is perfection.
This has to be the most beautiful soup thus far!
This soup sounds sumptuous! I am going to make this for my family on Thanksgiving. Just one example question: Do you have to pre-bake or cook the sweet potatoes in any way before adding them to the pot?? Thank you!
No, they actually cook pretty quickly in liquid.
That’s great, thank you!
This is the perfect time for a soup like this. The weather is changing and you need something to warm your bones a little. This would be a great thing to eat when feeling chilly.
what an amazing looking soup, Jackie. Such great flavor combinations. You’re great with this stuff.
Also – that lady sounds sweet. 🙂
Made this for my family – all adults-and we loved it. Fantastic. Made it just as the recipe said. You have some wonderful recipes here. Thank you.