In Good FlavorGinger Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bisque With Smoked Paprika Pecans is a delicious blend of autumnal flavors and makes an ideal start to the holiday meals. But why limit it to a special occasion, this soup is perfect on its own!
Guys! You are not going to believe this, but I just heard the first Christmas song of the year on the radio!! WHAAAAT?! Already? Do they not know that it’s only November 16th?
As I drove off to pick up my morning decaf Cup of Joe, what did my stunned ears hear, but Andy Williams singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. There is one local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 around the holidays, but I don’t recall it EVER starting so early. Needless to say, I changed the station. It is just too soon. Too soon!
Do you know what is not too soon for my husband? A Christmas tree. Yup! Ours will be going up this weekend, along with his Thomas Kindade-esque Christmas village display. This ritual happens the weekend before Thanksgiving, like clockwork every year. My husband loves looking at it all. And since he invests a lot of time into setting up, he wants to enjoy the visual for a long time. I can’t blame the logic—it makes perfect sense.
Moving on to today’s soup, this Ginger Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bisque With Smoked Paprika Pecans makes a perfect meal on its own or a great starter to the holiday dinner. It could be made ahead entirely and reheated on the day of, so adding it to the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is easy peasy. When making this bisque ahead of time, the soup will thicken upon refrigeration. If it is too thick once reheated, add a splash of chicken broth, cream, or both to thin it out (the bisque should have some body but be loose enough to easily flow off the spoon). Adjust seasoning to taste, if needed.
The flavor of this bisque is perfect for the season. The sweet potato, ginger, and cinnamon give this soup an autumnal vibe. A slight hint of smokiness from the paprika pairs well with the warmth of the other spices. And when garnished with the toasted smoked paprika pecans, all the flavors tie in superbly.
As a side note, I might need to ask Santa for a powerful food processor this year. Mine is an inexpensive model that is showing its age because it is not pureeing things as smoothly as I would have liked. This bisque didn’t come out as creamy as I wanted, but let me assure you, it certainly tastes great!!
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Ginger Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bisque with Smoked Paprika Pecans
Description
Ginger Cinnamon Sweet Potato Bisque With Smoked Paprika Pecans is a delicious blend of autumnal flavors and makes an ideal start to the holiday meals. But why limit it to a special occasion, this soup is perfect on its own!
Ingredients
For the Toasted Pecans:
Instructions
- Preheat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add garlic. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add wine, ginger, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover loosely and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes until carrots and potatoes are tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Allow the soup to cool slightly. Working in batches, fill a food processor or blender halfway with soup. Remove the center plug from the lid and cover it with a folded kitchen towel to allow steam to vent. Hold down the lid with the towel. Puree, starting on low and gradually increasing to medium/medium-high.
- Return the puréed soup to the saucepan. Stir in heavy cream and heat through on medium heat. Add more broth or cream to adjust to desired consistency, if needed.
- To make the toasted pecans: melt butter in a small skillet on medium heat. Add pecans, salt, and smoked paprika. Cook, stirring until pecans smell nutty and aromatic, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a parchment or wax paper-lined plate to cool.
- To serve soup, garnish with pecans.
- Makes 4 full or 6 starter servings
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Puree soup in a food processor, blender, or immersion blender.
Tips to prevent soup explosion: the pureeing in a blender or food processor: allow it to cool slightly before pureeing; fill the vessel only halfway; vent the lid slightly; hold a kitchen towel over the lid; start at low speed, then gradually increase to high.
If the soup seems thick once reheated, add a splash of broth or cream to thin out. Adjust seasoning if needed.
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i was hearing christmas music as soon as it hit november 1! that was a bit quick for me (and i've been seeing peppermint/eggnog/gingerbread things in the stores since mid-october). but anyways, this bisque sounds so deliciously spice-y, and i'm wishing i had a bowl to cozy up with right now (:
Oh my gosh, Heather! It's a wonder that you are not sick of Christmas by the time it actually rolls around! Here's to celebrating one holiday at a time! 🙂
We have a local radio station that starts playing Christmas music 24/7 at the start of December. However, all the malls are covered in Christmas decor and playing the music now. Anyway, this bisque is perfect for the colder months. Love the spices in it and the pecans sound so wonderful too!
Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier every year! I love Christmas though. This soup sounds delicious, I love all the wintery flavors 🙂 It sounds perfect for a nice cold winter day (or a 75 degree day here in San Diego ….)
December is fair game for all things Christmas, but those malls like to get a real head start, don't they? I'm not of a mall shopper and especially this time of year when getting into the parking lot is an ordeal.
I'm jealous, Danielle! Please send some of that weather this way! Christmas does seem to start earlier every year. It won't be too long before we see Christmas and Halloween decorations featured on the same shelves at the stores 😉
Christmas does seem to take off earlier every year. This year in Australia halloween decorations were competing for shelf space with christmas decorations in all the stores. It feels wrong. What feels so right is the bowl of glorious deliciousness. I love the colour, it looks so warming and tasty.
Thank you, Ruby! And I totally agree—it feels completely wrong. Each holiday deserves its own shelf and the time in the limelight.
Hello, Thao.
I started hearing Christmas songs on the radio since September. Lol. I know it is so early. We don't have any food processor, blender or immersion blender. Can I use a juicer instead?
Yum, smoked/spiced cream-based soups take a lot of trial and error to get the best combination of flavors. This sounds delicious!
Nicole @ http://www.bentomomentos.wordpress.com
OMG! That's just crazy!! Enough people must enjoy listening to it in order for the radio station to start playing the songs so early. In my opinion, September and Christmas music don't belong together. I would change the station 🙁 I don't own a juicer, so I can't speak from personal experience, but I think that it would do a great job at pureeing the bisque.
Well I'm already ready for Christmas music (sorry) but we have yet to put up our Christmas tree!! I'm hoping to get that up next weekend. I'm definitely in agreement on this bisque though. Loving that ginger-cinnamon flavour!!
Thank you, Nicole! Yes, can get very tricky. Thank goodness, this one came together with ease 🙂
I'll let you in on a little secret, I can listen to Michael Buble's Christmas album all year long but everyone else needs to wait until after Thanksgiving. I reluctantly helped my husband decorated both of our trees today (one regular size and one pencil tree), but I have to admit I do like looking at them once they are up. Have fun putting up yours!!
That's way too early for Xmas music! I'm ready to put my tree up though. Usually we wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving but I wanted to get one last weekend. Hubby talked me out of it.
This soup looks so comforting and delicious! Perfect as a holiday starter too. We are doing Friendsgiving on Friday and thinking of serving this as a soup course. Happy Thanksgiving to you and the family Thao 🙂
Yeah, I can look at a pretty Xmas much longer than I can listen to nonstop Xmas music. Have an awesome Friendsgiving, Karrie! I'm sure it will be a blast (with or without this soup on the menu). Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving! And enjoy the putting up the Xmas tree weekend! xx
Hahaha…it is the same here…stores are decorated with Christmas ornaments and lights as early as mid October. It is probably a good thing so that some people can get their shopping for gifts done early and avoid the last minute rush ( not for me though…I am all about getting things done at the last minute)
This recipe for bisque sounds amazing, so comforting and cosy. I love the combination of the ingredients…absolutely perfect.
Thank you for the great recipe,Thao 🙂
I just watched Anthony Bourdain's show, "Parts Unknown". He goes to different countries and explores the food, culture, and social/political condition of a particular region. He was in the Philippines where they start celebrating Christmas 100 days early! Now how crazy is that? I prefer to get things done with plenty of time to spare but waiting till the last minute works too…the adrenaline kicks in and things get done. If that works for you great, right? I'm glad you like the soup, Ashika! It is comforting.
Such a great combination of nutrient-dense ingredients, Thao! It seems like a perfect autumn and winter dish. Can I use fresh ginger instead of ground one?
Thank you, Agness! It might come as a bit of a surprise, but I don't usually have fresh ginger in the house unless I have a particular recipe in mind to make. I designed this soup so that I can make it at a moment's notice. Ground ginger is always available in my spice rack. To be honest, I haven't used fresh ginger for this soup, but since it is much more potent than fresh, I would start with 3 tablespoons of fresh grated ginger and increase or decrease the amount the next time depending the intensity level you like. I hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by!
I'm totally impressed by your delicious recipe it looks very sophisticated!
Thank you so much!! Sometimes you just have to trust your instinct, and this time I was quite please with how well all the flavors blended beautifully.
Sprouts is playing nothing but Christmas music now; I was in there this morning and was like TURN IT OFF! If they overdo it now I'll be screaming by the time Christmas is actually here. Too much Christmas music makes me a total Scrooge :). I need a big bowl of this soup to calm myself down!
I feel the exact same way, Kelsie. I don't want to be sick of Christmas music before the big day is even here. You know what they say about too much of a good thing…;)