$15 Sweet Potato and Bacon Soup

Since we're heading into the colder months here in Aus, i thought i'd share with you one of my favourite recipes. It's ridiculously simple, takes about 45 minutes, and is amazingly cheap. I've cooked it heaps, and never spent more than $15 on the ingredients (excluding the booze to accompany it, of course!). Best of all, you can chuck the whole thing in the fridge and re-heat it anytime, or freeze it for weeks!

Ingredients

• 1kg sweet potato (the smaller the better)
• A couple of slices of rasher bacon
• 10g Butter
• 3 cups milk
• 500mls Hot water (Not Boiling) [You can use chicken or veg stock instead for more flavour]
• Shaved Parmasan cheese
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil

Preheat your oven (and a deep baking tray) to around 190 degrees. It's best to start there, so that by the time you've finished washing, peeling and cutting your sweet potatoes, you'll be about ready to drop them straight in. You'll want to cut them around the same size so they cook evenly, but because you're going to mash them, don't get too fancy.

Once they're all cut, chuck them in a microwave safe bowl, and toss them through with some olive oil, and a little bit of salt & pepper (You can also use Moroccan seasoning to give it a bit more flavour) Sling the bowl into the microwave for about 5 minutes. This will soften the potatoes, and help them cook a little quicker.

Once it goes ding, pull out your baking tray, and drop the potatoes straight in to it (They should start to sizzle as soon as they hit the tray). Give it a shake to spread them out, and bang them straight back into the oven (It's probably a good idea to close the door as soon as you've taken the tray out, so your oven stays nice and hot).

Bake them off for around 20 minutes, just before they start to get dark, remove the tray from the oven (you can turn it off now, unless you're making pizza or a second course), and tip the potatoes into a medium pot or saucepan.

Start mashing them, then make a well in the centre. Add around half the milk, then the butter, once the milk is absorbed. [TIP: So you don't get yourself covered in milky orange potatoes, stir the milk through before you start mashing again.] Add the rest of the milk once it's started to thicken up again, and move the pan onto a low heat.

Slowly ladle in the hot water (or stock), stirring constantly. For best results, give the mix a blitz with a Hand mixer, or throw it in the blender. The trick with a good soup is to make it slightly more watery than you want to serve it, then simmer it until it hits the consistency you're after.

While it's simmering, slice/dice (your choice) your bacon and fry. Add it into the soup and stir through a handful or two of parmasan cheese, to taste. Garnish with something green, for best contrast.

Added Serving Suggestion: If you have any bread rolls, or a french loaf, cut it into angled slices, top with any leftover shaved parmasan and grill till golden brown. Perfect for dipping.