Fiery Sweet Potato Soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
6 cups vegetable stock
4 cups peeled sweet potatoes (cubed 1/2 inch in size) (about 1 large sweet potato will lend this much)
2 dried ancho chile peppers
1 or 2 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (depending on your tolerance for heat)
2 cups whole corn kernels
1 tsp grated lime zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
2 roasted red peppers, cut into thin strips
Finely chopped cilantro

In a stock pot, heat oil over medium heat and add onions, stirring, until softened. Add garlic, salt and oregano, stir, and cook for an additional minute. Add vegetable stock and stir until well combined.

Soak the dried chile peppers in boiling water for 30 minutes, making sure they remain submerged (you may need to place a weight of some sort on top of them). Discard liquid and stems. Pat dry with a paper towel and chop coarsely. Add to soup pot, along with jalapeño pepper(s).

Add cubed sweet potatoes and stir. Cover and bring to a simmer until sweet potatoes are tender and flavours have married. This will take about 25-30 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender and puree in several batches (as a hint, cover the top of the blender with a kitchen towel to prevent the hot soup from exploding all over!) Return to pot, add corn, lime juice and lime zest. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until corn is tender.

Garnish in individual bowls with strips of roasted red pepper and cilantro.

Serves 6.