Bekah’s not-so-beautiful (but fabulously tasty) bisque

My office mate Rebekah often brings delicious lunches to the office.  I know this because – well, there’s no way you could not know it if you share an office with Rebekah.  She appreciates her delicious culinary creations with every sense and every muscle in her body. 

“Mmmmmm…” she’ll begin, eyes closed and spoon up in the air to add emphasis.  “Do you even want to know how delicious this is?”

“How delicious is it?” I ask, appeasing her.

“You have no idea!”

And then she’ll savor her meal.  Loudly and dramatically. Rebekah will always generously offer me a taste, but most of the time I decline her offer because I couldn’t possibly deprive her of a single morsel of her savored treat.

Last week, however, she forced me to have a spoonful of her soup.  No, it was more than soup; it was bisque.  She absolutely insisted.  And I am so glad she did! 

Mmmmmm…” I proclaimed, eyes closed and spoon up in the air to add emphasis.  “Do you even know how delicious this is?”

But of course she did.

I asked Rebekah for the recipe and tonight I made my own bisque.  You will definitely want to try this – preferably on a brisk Autumn day like today.

There’s no recipe per se, so pay attention.

The cast of characters is simple and healthy: 2 – 3 sweet potatoes, 2 onions (or more), lots of garlic, a large crimini mushroom, a poblano pepper (for more kick, add more pepper; I used only a strip of the pepper), and some chicken or vegetable stock – which I forgot to put into the photo.  Obviously, the quantities in the photo are off.  Do as I say, not as I show in this photo!

First, peel and cube the sweet potatoes and onions.  Then dice the mushroom and the pepper (NOT the whole thing or you WILL be sorry!).

Pour about 1/4 cup of olive oil into a large Ziplock bag.  Add salt and pepper.  Toss each ingredient together until well coated.

Lay everything on baking pans in a single layer and bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes…

…until it looks like this:

Now put everything into a blender (you might need to do this “in shifts”).

To the blending vegetables, slowly add chicken or vegetable stock until the bisque is of desired consistency.  (Apparently mine was a bit too thick; Tom said it was the consistency of “hair mousse”!)

Once all the veggies are blended to desired thickness, put the soup (er, I mean bisque) on the stove and cook it over low heat for a while.  (30 minutes worked fine.)

It might not be pretty, but it is definitely TASTY! You’d definitely think there’s cream in here, but nope – just healthy veggies and stock!  I served this with a Caesar salad and Hawaiian sweet rolls.  It was a definite hit!

From now on, when Rebekah insists her lunch is incredible and delicious, I will not only believe her, I’ll get the recipe!