Creamy Winter Soup + Candied Pecans and Bacon

Creamy Winter Soup + Candied Pecans and Bacon is a beautifully complex soup that will warm the soul!

This is sponsored content from Better than Bouillon®. The opinions are my own.

Is it just me or is this winter never-ending?  You agree, don’t you.  I thought so.  Let’s look on the bright side – only in the dead of winter can you roast rutabaga and yams and puree them up into the most beautiful and complex soup known to man.

The flavor in this bowl of Creamy Winter Soup is incredible.  And it only begins withe the roasted root vegetables.  To add to the savoriness, there is also thick-cut, smoked bacon and red onion.  Then, the glue holding all of this together, is the wonderfully flavorful Better than Bouillon® Vegetable Base.  It perfectly compliments the flavors and highlights every note, instead of over-powering them.  If you guys haven’t gone out and stocked your pantry with the Better than Bouillon® bases, you should. They are so convenient and the flavors – they compliment all of your recipes perfectly.  I have been using them continuously since I first tried them when making my Braised Lamb Shoulder and I am impressed every time!

Finally, potentially the best part of this entire dish, is the candied pecans and bacon crumble on top.  Look at those sugar crystals!  Can’t you just taste it?

You know when you eat that perfect baked yam with the melted butter and brown sugar…. This soup is kind of like that.  But in soup form.  With bacon.  Candied bacon.

Don’t get me wrong, though.  It is not over-poweringly sweet.  It is complex, savory and decadent.  This is a soup to savor and enjoy with some crusty, buttered French bread and a glass of light, sparkling wine.  It is a soup to “wow” your dinner guests with and to keep you warm in this seemingly never-ending winter.  It is the essence of what a “winter soup” is and you guys just simply need to try it.

Stay warm, my friends, and stay hopeful!  That smell of melting snow (yes, I swear there is a smell to it) and the sound of chirping birds and new tree buds is not too far around the corner.  For now, let’s just enjoy the excuse to curl up with a bowl of savory Winter Soup and hey, you have my permission to go heavy on the Candied Pecans and Bacon.

Cheers!

Before….

After….

Really an awesome product!  Thank you, Better than Bouillon®!

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Love,

Erin

Creamy Winter Soup + Candied Pecans and Bacon

 

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Author: Erin - The Wooden Skillet

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 4 medium yams, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 3 Teaspoons salt, divided
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 6 slices thick-cut, smoked bacon, cut into chunks
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 5 cups vegetable stock made with Better than Bouillon® Vegetable Base
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1½ ground coriander
• ⅛ Teaspoon cinnamon
• ⅛ Teaspoon ground sage
• Candied Pecans and Bacon:
• 4 slices of bacon
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 1 Tablespoon sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place rutabaga and yams on cookie sheet.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt.
4. Mix.
5. Place in oven and roast for about 30 minutes (we are not looking to fully cook them - just to add a little bit of that "roasting"flavor).
6. In a large soup pot, add chopped bacon and bring to medium heat.
7. Stir fairly continuously until the bacon fat starts to render (about 4-6 minutes).
8. Then add onion.
9. Cook and stir until onion cooks down (about 4 minutes).
10. Add vegetable stock and celery.
11. Bring to boil.
12. Remove vegetables from the oven and add to your soup pot.
13. Add coriander, cinnamon, sage and 1 Teaspoon salt.
14. Mix thoroughly and then cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until vegetables are very soft.
15. Remove from heat and let cool.
16. Once mixture has cooled, take out your blender.
17. In batches, blend mixture until silky smooth *but be careful!! If you don't let the mixture cool enough it may pop the top off of your blender - make sure it is cool and even then I would recommend keeping a towel over the top of your blender*
18. Once you have blended it all, place back in your soup pot and heat back up.
19. Candied Pecans and Bacon:
20. Cook bacon until crispy and then cut into chunks.
21. In small skillet, add bacon, pecans and sugar.
22. Bring to medium heat, but continually push ingredients around the pan. Slow, the sugar will start to melt and stick to the bacon and pecans. If you leave it sit too long without stirring, the sugar will stick to the pan and not the ingredients.
23. Once sugar has melted and stuck to bacon and pecans, remove from heat and place in bowl.
24. Serve soup hot, with warm french bread and garnish with candied pecans and walnuts.

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