This cool winter soup might be just as good warmed up, especially with a drizzle of smoky Crown Maple® organic maple syrup chile sauce on top. (To be fair, I love anything spicy, so this is one of my all-time favorite dishes.) The flavors are straight out of a global explorer’s cookbook—you have sweet potatoes that can be traced back to both Africa and prehistoric Polynesia, dried peppers brought up to the colonies by the Spanish conquerors of Mesoamerica, and, of course, Crown Maple® organic maple syrup from North America. How can so many different flavors peacefully coexist in one dish?
The three dried chiles used in this sauce are the most commonly used chiles for preparing classic Mexican mole dishes. Many grocery stores now carry these chiles at the end of the spice aisle, but if you can’t find them, go to the best Latin American grocery store you can find and ask for them by name.
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 30 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES
SERVES: 4
INGREDIENTS:
1 dried ancho chile
2 dried pasilla chiles
4 dried árbol chiles
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
¼ cup (60 milliliters) Crown Maple® Dark Color Robust Taste organic maple syrup
¾ cup (120 milliliters) vegetable oil
4 pounds (1.8 kilograms) sweet potatoes (about 4 large), peeled and cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon Crown Maple® organic maple sugar, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
½ cup (120 milliliters) plain full-fat Greek yogurt
Up to 5 cups (1.2 liters) chicken or vegetable broth
DIRECTIONS:
Put the dried chiles, vinegar, 1½ teaspoons salt, and the Crown Maple® organic maple syrup in a food processor. Process the chiles, drizzling in ½ cup (120 milliliters) of the oil slowly as you go, until you have a smooth mixture that resembles a homemade barbecue sauce. (Add up to ½ cup/120 milliliters water if needed). Set the sauce aside. You will have about 1 ½ cups/360 milliliters chile sauce; in a sealable container, it will last up to 1 month in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C); line a baking sheet with foil.
Combine the sweet potatoes with the remaining ¼ cup (60 milliliters) vegetable oil, the Crown Maple® organic maple sugar, the black pepper, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and toss to coat the sweet potatoes thoroughly. Spread the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until soft and slightly browned on the edges. Let cool.
Place the roasted potatoes in a food processor. Add the yogurt and puree the mixture, adding up to 5 cups (1.2 liters) broth as necessary, until you have a smooth soup consistency. Season with additional salt, pepper, and Crown Maple® organic maple sugar to taste, then transfer to a sealable container and chill until ready to serve.
Serve the soup in bowls and top generously with the chile sauce.