many of you may know clara mcginn. she’s cranks orders out of the big bear kitchen every sunday morning. long ponytail. glasses. yeah, you know who i’m talking about.
what you may *not* know about clara is that she is a serious foodie and has an adventurous, sophisticated palate. the girl really thinks about food.
i once listened to her describe the importance of having the perfect number of capers on a lox bagel: “they add a really nice crunch.”
another time, i think her eyes actually swirled like pinwheels as she described an udon noodle dish her dad made for her birthday.
clara was working in the kitchen a few weeks ago as i made a batch of lentil soup. when the soup was ready, i asked her to give it a taste. (i was nervous. i won’t lie.)
she immediately started analyzing it. what spices were in it? how did the shiitakes get that springy texture? finally, after some careful thought, she approved. (phew!)
she also had a suggestion: “i think you should make a coconut curry soup. that would be really good.”
maybe clara’s idea impressed me so much because when i was her age, i had never had coconut curry, never tasted udon noodles and couldn’t have cared less about capers. however, i could have written volumes about my love for processed cheese products like cheetos, velveeta, and aerosol cheese. what a silly fool i was then.
and so….this week’s soup is miss mcginn’s sweet potato bisque, in honor of clara mcginn and her epicurean ways.
with caramelized sweet potatoes, coconut milk and 6 different spices, the soup is creamy, complex and aromatic. i kind of want to put some behind my ears.
a garnish of ground cashews and a few drops of sriracha seal the deal.
don’t thank me. thank clara.
clara mcginn
