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supermarket. One small can has several chiles, more than you will need for one recipe. Store the remainder in a glass jar, and it will keep in the refrigerator for weeks.
Instructions
1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and cumin, and sauté until the vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the sweet potatoes, chipotle, and broth; for a little extra punch, stir in a bit of the adobo sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft, about 20 minutes.
3. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender (careful, it’s hot) and purée until smooth, then return it to the pot. Or use an immersion blender and purée the soup right in the pot.
4. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Serve hot, adding a swirl of sour cream to each serving.
    Variation: It’s an extra step, but if you take the time to roast the sweet potato chunks before adding them to the soup, you’ll get a richer flavor. (See Roasting Vegetables, below.)
    Make ahead? Make the soup up to a day in advance, chill until serving.
    For large crowds: This soup, with its inexpensive ingredients, is ideal for expanding. Go easy with the cumin; increase it only incrementally, and taste as you go.
    Roasting Vegetables
    In many cases, roasting vegetables before adding them to the soup deepens and enriches the finished flavor. It does add an extra step, but the results are worth it. The general procedure is this: Preheat the oven to 400°F, peel the vegetables as desired, cut into chunks, and toss them in a little olive oil. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast. Check on the vegtables at about 5 minutes; if you want the pieces to retain their shape in the soup, remove from the oven now, while they still have some bite. If the soup will be puréed, they can go back in the oven for 5 or 6 minutes longer, until very tender.

Sweet Potato Soup — Two Ways
Granny Smith’s Sweet Potato Soup
    Serves 6–8
    Sweet potatoes and tart apples are a very appealing combination.
Ingredients
6 medium sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 tangy apples, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
6 cups water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, preferably white (see note below)
    Note: White pepper in this case is suggested more for appearance than taste. The soup is such a lovely color that the little black flecks of black pepper can seem visually disconcerting. But if you don’t have any white pepper, black is just fine.
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Poke a few holes in the potatoes, place on a baking sheet, and roast until quite tender, 45 minutes or so.
2. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and apple slices, and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes.
3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half, scoop out the flesh, and add it to the soup pot. Stir in the water, salt, and pepper, and simmer for a few minutes, until everything is heated through.
4. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender (careful, it’s hot) and purée until smooth, and then return it to the pot. Or use an immersion blender and purée the soup right in the pot. Check for consistency; add more water if desired.
5. Bring the soup back to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings; serve hot.
    Make ahead? Depending on your schedule, you can do a little ahead, or a lot, or the whole thing. You can complete step 1 and store the baked potatoes in the refrigerator, in a plastic bag. Or finish through step 2 and refrigerate. Or finish the soup completely and chill until serving time.
    For large crowds: This soup doubles (or triples) very nicely.

Italian Bean and Pasta Soup
    Serves 6–8
    Italians call this soup pasta fagioli (pronounced fah- zho -lee, or fah-zhool if you’re several generations away from the old country). The combination of