Click HERE to register your comments...or improve the recipe.

Or do you want to take another look at the homepage MENU?

Or do you want to SEARCH for something specific?

This soup was born of pure inspiration. Zach Williams--musician, chef (self-appointed), and submarine sailor--got hungry late one night and created it out of refrigerator contents. It's a doozie: light and smooth with a little bite and lots of savory layers--with vegetarian and carnivorous options. Zach lives in Virginia with his lovely wife and daring taste-tester Christina. Many thanks to him. Serve this hot to 6-8 people as a terrific start to a Caribbean or Mexican meal, good both hot and cold.

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 serrano chile pepper (or jalapeno)--more or less, to taste--sliced thinly
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
• 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• thyme, ideally fresh branches of it, but dried is fine so long as you crush it between your palms as you add it into the pot
• salt and pepper, to taste
• sausage (optional)
• juice of 1 lemon

Garnish: very thin curls lemon zest

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion until golden. Toss in the sliced hot pepper, then pour in the stock and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes and thyme, reboil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the potatoes are cooked, puree--solids first--then pour back into the saucepan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Hot only: If you would like a hearty, meat soup, separately sauté fresh mild sausage or sauté thin rounds of a hard garlicky sausage until crisp.

When ready to serve, stir in the lemon juice then ladle the soup--either piping hot or chilled--into bowls. Spoon in sausage, if applicable. Top with lemon curls.