Ingredients
Scale
- 3 to 5 slices bacon (chopped)
- 1 onion (chopped)
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
- 2 large sweet potatoes (peeled and cubed)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 cups kale (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1½ cups corn (fresh cut off the cob or frozen)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups half & half
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Wash and chop the vegetables. Peel sweet potatoes, cut them into half inch rounds. Then stack up a few of the rounds and cut into strips, then into cubes.
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the chopped bacon and cook until crisp. Stir occasionally, about 7 to 9 minutes. Remove bacon to a bowl. Depending on the bacon, you may want to discard some of the drippings to a glass bowl. Leave at least 1 Tablespoon in the pot to saute the veggies. I used 3 slices of bacon and didn't remove any of the drippings.
- Saute the onion, red pepper and sweet potatoes in the remaining bacon drippings. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Stir occasionally, about 10 minutes.
- Add the kale, garlic, and flour and cook a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add the corn and chicken stock, COVER, and simmer over medium to low heat until the sweet potatoes are softened, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir occasionally as it simmers. Adjust the heat so it lightly bubbles but doesn't rapidly boil. Use a potato masher to lightly break up the potatoes, leaving them a bit chunky.
- Add the half & half. You can save some or all of the bacon and cilantro to garnish each bowl, or mix it in with the soup. Simmer 5 more minutes until thickened.