I’ve had two requests for this now, so I might as well blog it:

R: oooh, got the recipe for that soup?

A: leftovers from the party, but yeah, if you like

R: sounds good ?

A: 6 to 8 modest sweet potatoes (or fewer of the huge ones)

A: boil until mostly soft. drain. put back into saucepan and mash slightly

A: add enough water to make a concrete-like fluid. bring to simmer.

A: fry off a few rashers of bacon until golden [ed: I use the finely-sliced kind]

A: then add [to sweet potato mash]: 2x chopped spring onions, 2x red chillis (deseeded) and the bacon, with a little of the liquid fat

A: and a slightly chopped whole fresh lemongrass

A: then attack it gently with a handblender

A: season with salt and pepper once satisfied

R: sounds yummy

A: you get sweet, salt, meaty, aromatic goodness

R: I don’t have a handblender, though

A: blender catches most of the fibrous stuff.

A: you could probably do OK with a potato masher but would need to prep the other ingredients more finely

Might be worth considering using a mouli on the result, but I was OK with it.