SWEET POTATO & CRAB SOUP

2 tablespoons sweet butter

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced carrot

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 cups diced sweet potatoes

3 cups light stock or water

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup lump crabmeat, carefully picked over for shells and cartilage

2 tablespoons snipped chives

In a soup pot melt butter, add onion and carrot and sweat until tender. Dust vegetables with flour and stir until golden. Add sweet potatoes and stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Remove pot from heat and allow soup to cool slightly. Puree in a blender or food processor until smooth. Strain, if fine soup is desired, and return to cleaned pot. Stir in cream and crab and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat soup just to simmering; do not boil soup. Just before serving add chives.

Yield: 6 servings