Sweet Potato Soup with Walnut Pesto

This savory Sweet Potato Soup with a fresh Walnut Pesto Recipe is the perfect cozy comfort food for the colder months.

There’s a change in the air – tis the season for warm, comforting soups and stews! And boy howdy am I glad. It’s been dang hot around here – hot as a snake’s arse on a hayride, if you ask me. So I’m certainly welcoming the cool breeze and teasing change of color in the leaves with open arms.

This recipe for Sweet Potato Soup with Walnut Pesto has been floating around my desk for nearly a year since a friend who had pulled it from a magazine passed it on to me. Not sure what publication it’s from. I think it’s Cooking Light. They always have yummy stuff, don’t they? I’ve adapted it because I like to break the rules, but it’s fairly close to the original. The difference is their pesto called for parsley, but since I have a bumper crop of fresh basil right now, I chose a traditional basil pesto base.

This soup is most satisfying. The perfect ending to a crisp fall day. No fancy ingredients with this one. And no fancy procedures. Some simple chopping is all. Chop leeks, sweet potatoes, and kale (or swiss chard). Or not, if you don’t like the leafy green stuff. But it’s good for you folks. Give it a try.

The soup comes together very easily. Basically, after sautéeing the leeks in some olive oil (Is there a better aroma people? I think not.), throw all the chopped ingredients in the pot, along with some broth, water, beans, salt and pepper. The full preparation instructions for the soup are below.

And while the soup is simple and tasty on it’s own, the pesto adds that certain je ne sais quois to round out the flavor. Plus, I love pesto.

And pesto is so easy to make. Here, let me show you…

By the way, the pesto can be made ahead and refrigerated, but it’s simple enough to put together while the soup is simmering. When making pesto, there’s no right or wrong order of chopping (as far as I know), but I always begin with the garlic and nuts, to make sure they’re finely processed to avoid any large bits. Follow the garlic and nuts with the sage, basil, salt, and cheese, adding the oil a little at a time when needed. Be sure to scrape the bowl of the food processor down a few times as you go. And that’s it.

Note: This pesto calls for omega-3 fatty acid packed walnut oil, but olive oil can be substituted just as easily.

Pesto is simple eats y’all. And scrumptious. Any pesto leftover would be fantabulous on bruschetta or some simple toast. It would. I promise. I wouldn’t like to you.

Serve this Sweet Potato Soup warm and topped with a big spoonful of the pesto. Enjoy!

What’s your favorite soup, chowder or stew to cozy up to this time of the year?

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Sweet Potato Soup with Walnut Pesto

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

A healthy bowl of comfort food.

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Ingredients

For soup:

• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium sized leeks (2 cups chopped)
• 28 oz. (or thereabouts) chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 small-medium sweet potatoes (2 1/2 cups cubed)
• 1 bunch of kale, or swiss chard (4 cups chopped)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 – 15.5 oz. cans cannellini, or great northern beans (not drained)
• juice of 1 lemon

For pesto:

• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 12, or so fresh small-medium sage leaves
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
• 4 tablespoons walnut oil (olive oil may be substituted)
• 3/4 cup Asiago cheese, grated/shredded

Instructions

1. Begin by slicing the leeks and sautéing them in olive oil in stock pot until tender.
2. Add the chicken broth and water, and bring to a simmer.
3. Chop the sweet potato in about 1/2-1-inch cubes, then add to the pot, along with the beans (and bean juice – don’t drain), salt and pepper. Cook an additional 10 minutes or so, until the potatoes are just tender, but not mushy.
4. Rough chop the kale and toss it in. Cook for about 3 minutes or until wilted.
5. Turn off heat and squeeze in the juice from one lemon.

For the pesto: (The pesto can be made ahead and refrigerated, but it’s simple enough to put together while the soup is simmering.)

1. Begin by chopping the garlic and nuts in a food processor.* Make sure they’re finely processed.
2. Follow the garlic and nuts with the sage, basil, and salt, adding oil a little at a time when needed.
3. Add the cheese and blend well.

Notes

Adapted from Cooking Light (I think).

*Remember to scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl after each ingredient addition.

Did you make this recipe?

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